


Pull the Tide

by thewriterofperfectdisasters



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, auguste is such a good brother, nik is a little bit of a shit but also v good bro, this fic went from 0-100 so damn fast yall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-30
Updated: 2018-05-30
Packaged: 2019-05-16 02:58:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14803068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewriterofperfectdisasters/pseuds/thewriterofperfectdisasters
Summary: ‘It was... everything,’ Laurent admitted. ‘You’re difficult to ignore.’Damen grinned. ‘I get that a lot.’‘Do you?’Damen took another step forward. They were within touching distance now. ‘Not necessarily from people that matter.’‘Do I matter?’‘God, I want you to.’





	Pull the Tide

**Author's Note:**

> so this is the fic i've been yelling about on tumblr for, uh, a while. started as a drabble and now we here, 20k later. originally from a prompt on [this](http://damiaanos.tumblr.com/post/139516414153/here-have-some-aus-as-if-there-arent-enough-on) list.
> 
> shout out to em and eo for being my cheerleaders, even though neither of them are even? in this fandom? luv u guys.

Laurent did not like the gym. He preferred to run, or do yoga, or take out his physical frustrations on the punching bag he had hanging in the living area. Usually he only went to the gym when he was absolutely desperate (or there was a class on that he’d decided didn’t sound like total shit) and today was just one of those days.

It was raining, like, _really_ raining. Hard. In sheets, in buckets, a complete downpour. What’s up, winter? So, with a heavy heart, Laurent packed his gym bag and got to work suppressing his annoyance at his fellow humans, and made his way to the gym.

His parking space at the apartment building was covered, but the lot at the gym was open air, and despite that it was almost empty, the closest free spot was still too far away. Or, at least, far enough away that Laurent got drenched in the thirty seconds it took to get his bag from the trunk, lock his car, and sprint to the safety and shelter of the gym, proper.

The receptionist looked up as the automatic doors slid open, wincing sympathetically at the “drowned rat” look Laurent was exhibiting. He looked like he was about to open his mouth and make a joke about it, but Laurent cut that off with a very swift, very sharp, ‘Do not.’

He stalked down the hall towards the lockers, dumping his bag and opening it to grab the spare towel he’d chucked in to prepare for this eventuality. He still wasn’t dry by the time he was done, but he at least wasn’t dripping – and it wasn’t like he was going to strip off his wet things and stick them under the meagre hand dryers or blow dryers.

As Laurent headed to the floor, he stuck his earphones in and started up his workout playlist, on the off chance there was anyone here stupid enough to try and talk to him. Luckily, there were only a few other people in the complex, and of those, two were chatting happily, and two more were listening to their own music.

Laurent turned the corner to the treadmills and saw in front of them on one of the weight benches the most beautiful man he’d ever seen.

God, Laurent wished he’d taken the time to dry off properly. Now he just looked like he was incompetent and incredibly sweaty in front of this absolute _god_ of a man.

He climbed onto one of the treadmills nearer the corner of the wall, far enough away that maybe the other guy wouldn’t spot him, but still close enough that Laurent could be a little bit of a creeper to watch him. He started up the treadmill on a relatively low setting, just to see whether his trainers would slip on it or not, and saw the other guy glance quickly in his direction.

Great. Laurent looked gross and like a total rookie. And he’d been spotted.

Laurent usually wasn’t the self-conscious type. He was in great shape, he knew how to use the gym equipment, and he didn’t care what anyone thought of him at the best of times, but this guy was intimidating and intimidatingly hot. It had him all types of flustered.

Nevertheless, Laurent set to picking up a good pace in time with his music, and didn’t feel his shoes slipping at all. His clothes were beginning to get warm and damp, which wasn’t pleasant exactly, but would definitely have been worse if he’d left them utterly sopping.

To make matters worse (or better) the weights guy had moved.

Laurent didn’t want to look like he was following him, but he was getting tired of the treadmill, and wanted to use cable machine, which was right next to where weights guy had ended up.

Laurent checked the weights on the machine and sat for a minute to catch his breath, sipping from his water bottle as he sent Auguste a quick text.

 

_(09:21) I’m at the gym_

_(09:21) It’s raining and I am very wet_

**(09:22) Congrats?**

_(09:22) There’s a guy here_

**(09:23) I don’t want to point out the obvious, but it is a public place, lil bro.**

_(09:23) You don’t understand_

_(09:23) He’s… pleasant looking_

_(09:23) And right now I am not_

**(09:24) You mean you’re crushing on a random at the gym because he’s hot?**

**(09:24) I do that all the time what makes you so special lol**

_(09:25) You don’t understand_

 

Laurent slid his eyes slowly up past the top of his phone as he tapped the image selector and turned on the camera. He tried his best to look like one of those people who took selfies in gym mirrors, as he poked his tongue out in an attempt at being playful, and tilted his phone slightly down to the floor to where weights guy was doing crunches. He waited for weights guy to be at a vertical point and snapped the picture, sending it to Auguste.

Okay, it might not have been the best photo. It was slightly blurred, and weights guy looked like he was in the middle of a grunt of exertion, so his face was a bit screwed up, but… the intent was there.

 

_(09:26) He’s very pleasant looking_

**(09:26) Oh daaaaaamn**

**(09:26) That’s a good lookin dude**

_(09:27) That’s a very good lookin dude_

**(09:27) Want me to introduce you?**

_(09:27) Pardon_

**(09:28) Oh yeah, he’s a buddy of Jord’s so we’ve met a couple times**

**(09:28) Long ass name but goes by Damen lol**

_(09:28) Oh fuck_

_(09:28) I’ll kill you if you ever mention this_

**(09:29) LOL**

**(09:29) Yeah I know**

 

Laurent narrowed his eyes at his phone as he slipped it back in his pocket, ignoring the terribly timed song that came on as he finally moved to start working out on the machine. _You and me, baby, ain’t nothin’ but mammals…_

Laurent aggressively skipped it.

He caught sight of his own face in the mirror as he did so, and if his mother was here, she would point out exactly how unattractive that scowl was. Laurent liked to think he had good reason for it, because there were just so many factors to piss him off today. He was wet, he’d told Auguste about a hot guy that Auguste apparently _knew_ , and now he was pretty sure Auguste did know him, and had told someone, because weights guy was checking his phone and glancing at Laurent in the mirror behind him.

Well, Laurent was not about to move. He wanted to use this machine, and he was damn well going to.

He pulled harder on the machine, and did his best to ignore that weights guy – shit, _Damen_ – was now doing push ups.

Laurent stopped and added a little more weight to the machine, and God, what was this? Fucking _chicken_? With _gym equipment_? Damen watched him in the mirror, a smile tugging at his mouth and switched tactics, folding one arm behind his back and continuing with his push ups.

Laurent pursed his lips and tried not to stare, tried to keep going with his workout, because really, it had only just begun, but it was just… really impressive. Impressive and intimidating. Intimidatingly impressive and _hot_ , Jesus, Laurent could only imagine how Damen’s very evident strength would transfer to other things…

No. Laurent refused to go there. Especially in the middle of a public place, and especially when he was wearing shorts that would probably hide, uh, nothing. All his other gear was out of action in the laundry and he was pushed for options, so here he was in these shorts that were older than his toddler niece, and shorter than anything else he ever wore outside the comfort of his own home in the middle of summer.

Life was hard, like he was _definitely not going to be_. Laurent ground his teeth and stopped on the machine, heading to the ellipticals. He started up on one of those instead, ignoring that he could still see Damen – now doing one handed push ups with the other arm, goddammit – from the corner of his eye.

Laurent focused on looking out the window in front of him instead, glaring at the rain that had brought him to this whole new and unexpected avenue of torture. He skipped the same song as before, because apparently the world was fucking with him, and his phone was acting up. That song was definitely not in this playlist more than once.

He had been going for a few minutes on the elliptical when he noticed someone coming up beside him, which, really, was not something he wanted. Laurent quickly turned up his music, the electric guitars drowning out everything else, including whoever it was next to him that was trying to strike up a conversation. Loudly, if the fact that Laurent could hear them talking over his music was anything to go by.

Something touched Laurent’s arm and he about jumped out of his skin, careening sharply into the side of the elliptical, yanking out a headphone as he stopped and rubbed his arm. ‘Can I help you?’ he asked, spinning his head so fast he almost gave himself whiplash.

It was Damen. ‘Uh, sorry,’ he said, blushing a little and sounding genuinely apologetic. ‘Are you Auguste’s brother?’

Laurent was going to kill him. ‘Not anymore,’ Laurent said, turning down his music.

‘Oh, uh,’ Damen faltered, sounding uncertain.

‘Yes,’ Laurent sighed. ‘Auguste and I are related.’

Damen’s face brightened. ‘Cool! He –’

‘Texted you?’

‘Jord.’

‘Who then texted you?’

‘Yeah,’ Damen bit back a grin.

Laurent narrowed his eyes and went back to slowly working on the elliptical. ‘Redeemable.’

‘I heard you said something about me…’ Damen trailed off, taking in the way Laurent tensed at his words.

‘And what might that have been?’ Laurent asked lightly.

‘Something about relative attractiveness, maybe?’

Laurent stopped again and sighed loudly. ‘Irredeemable.’

‘Who?’

‘Auguste.’

‘Not me?’

‘I don’t even know you.’

Damen hummed in consideration. ‘Would you like to?’

Laurent turned to him incredulously. ‘Are you fucking with me? Auguste has those kinds of friends who think it’s funny to play with people.’

‘Oh, I’d like to play with you,’ Damen agreed nonchalantly. ‘Just not in the way you’re suggesting.’

Laurent scoffed and rolled his eyes, climbing off the elliptical. ‘I’m leaving now.’

‘Why? I’m trying to flirt with you, help me out here.’

‘I don’t need to be flirted with,’ Laurent said, taking out his phone to change his song again. ‘I’m not interested.’

‘Auguste suggested differently,’ Damen said, following Laurent to the exit of the gym floor.

‘Auguste was wrong,’ Laurent said, smiling and giving Damen a cheery wave as he walked backwards through the door and headed to the lockers.

Once there, he took out his phone and sent his brother another text.

 

_(10:03) I’m going to kill you :)_

**(10:03) Goddammit.**

 

Laurent huffed and grabbed his towel, before heading to the gym showers. He probably didn’t need to, because it wasn’t like he’d had a particularly strenuous workout in the first place, and he was also just going to get wet again when he went out through the rain to his car. Whatever. He wanted to clear his head a little.

He might’ve regretted brushing Damen off. Might’ve. Just a little. But it wasn’t because he wasn’t attracted to him, like, he _definitely_ was. It was more that he was just too embarrassed to address the situation he’d unwittingly caused by texting Auguste, who’d texted Jord, who’d then texted Damen, and… really. Laurent should just never share his personal thoughts and/or feelings ever again, and that was just a fact.

Laurent sighed and ran his head under the water, brushing a hand through his hair to avoid it dripping into his eyes. He really wasn’t achieving much here, wasting water, so he turned the shower off and dried quickly, wrapping the towel around his waist as he headed back to his bag.

He threw his wet hair into a bun, and shoved his legs quickly into another loose pair of shorts as he checked his phone for notifications.

 

**(10:06) Jord says Damen is sad :(**

**(10:06) Jord says Damen said he was serious and wants me to pass the message along?**

**(10:08) Laurent are you ignoring me? Your big bro who you love? And care for?**

**(10:12) Maybe you’re in the shower**

**(10:12) Definitely in the shower**

_(10:19) Hey! Fuck off._

**(10:19) :( Don’t be like that I’m trying to help you get a hot boyfriend**

 

Laurent decided to ignore that. He was just going through his bag to find a shirt – which, surely he’d packed a spare? – when someone else came into the lockers.

Laurent heard the door swing shut and someone mutter angrily, before that someone came into view. Laurent suppressed a groan as Damen rounded the corner, because apparently the universe was intent on making him suffer today.

‘Oh, sorry,’ Damen said, looking down at his phone and tapping something out quickly. ‘I’m not stalking you, I swear.’

‘Didn’t think you were,’ Laurent said, still trying to find a damn shirt. ‘It’s a public place.’

Damen sighed. ‘I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable before. That wasn’t my intention, and I promise, I’m not that guy that hits on people at the gym.’

Laurent stopped and straightened up, crossing his arms over his chest. ‘What kind of guy are you, then?’

‘The kind that asks people out on dates in more appropriate settings. The kind that’s respectful and… not a creeper who stalks people through gyms and accosts them while half naked.’

‘While you’re half naked or while they are?’

‘Either. Both,’ Damen shrugged. ‘Can I be a little inappropriate?’

Laurent raised his eyebrows and shifted his weight. ‘Generally, I’d say no.’

‘Are you?’

‘Well, you’re about to find out.’

‘I just… I would like to flirt with you. I think you’re… you know.’

‘Do I?’ Laurent asked. ‘Auguste said you were serious.’

‘I am.’

Laurent allowed himself a slow slide of his eyes up and down Damen’s tall, muscled body. ‘Hmm.’

Damen blinked. ‘I don’t know what to make of that.’

‘I’m not saying no.’

‘To what?’

Laurent tilted his head. ‘A little inappropriateness.’

Damen took a tentative step forward. ‘This is a public place.’

‘It is,’ Laurent agreed. ‘Did you have a point?’

‘I…’ Damen cut himself off and shut his mouth sharply. ‘Was it the push ups?’

‘The one-armed push ups?’

‘Yeah.’

‘No.’

‘No?’

‘It was... everything,’ Laurent admitted. ‘You’re difficult to ignore.’

Damen grinned. ‘I get that a lot.’

‘Do you?’

Damen took another step forward. They were within touching distance now. ‘Not necessarily from people that matter.’

‘Do I matter?’

‘God, I want you to.’

Laurent took a short step forwards, tentatively reaching out and lightly running his fingertips over Damen’s chest, watching the path they traced, before glancing up at his face. ‘Me too.’

Damen leaned down a little, his eyes catching on Laurent’s lips as they scanned his face. ‘I want to kiss you,’ he murmured.

Laurent removed his hand and took a step backwards, putting a little distance between them again. ‘Do you even know my name?’

‘Do you know mine?’

‘You’re Damen.’

‘I wasn’t… expecting you to know,’ Damen blushed. ‘Jord – or Auguste, didn’t say.’

Laurent rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not doing this.’

‘Wait, what?’

‘There’s a line between sex in a locker room, and anonymous sex at a gym,’ Laurent said. ‘Which I’m guessing was where this was heading, yes?’

‘Yeah, I mean… yeah,’ Damen frowned. ‘But I can respect your reasons.’

‘Great,’ Laurent said, giving up on finding a shirt – because, yeah, he still hadn’t found one – and pulled his still-damp hoodie on over his bare skin. He shoved his stuff back in his bag and swung it over his shoulder, once again, leaving Damen behind as he headed for the exit. ‘I’ll see you around.’

Damen didn’t reply, just continued frowning as he watched Laurent leave.

It had stopped raining so hard when Laurent left, now more of a persistent drizzle that created a layer of dew on his clothes. He sat in his car and took a deep breath, clenching his fists a few times as he wondered whether or not he’d just made a huge mistake.

***

**(14:06) So I just got a text from Jord**

**(14:06) I want you to guess what it says**

_(14:07) Is it a dick joke?_

**(14:07) He sent me a dick joke half an hour ago :)**

**(14:07) No it is a very sad plea from Damen for what your name is**

**(14:08) seriously what did you do? Fuck him so hard he forgot?**

_(14:08) I didn’t._

**(14:08) Didn’t what?**

_(14:09) Fuck him._

_(14:09) He didn’t know my name and I’m not the “anonymous sex in a locker room” type._

**(14:09) What, you got like a “scream my name and call me daddy” thing going or**

_(14:10) Wow, this conversation is done._

_(14:10) It’s been great catching up, let’s never do it again!_

**(14:11) Can I tell him your name?**

_(14:11) I’m sure if he’s desperate enough he’ll stalk you on social media and find me._

**(14:11) Do you want him to?**

**(14:12) He’s nice, Laurent.**

_(14:12) Probably. We didn’t exactly have any in-depth conversation._

**(14:13) If in-depth conversation is what you’re looking for off the bat, you might be doing it wrong.**

**(14:13) It’s 2018, not 1818.**

_(14:13) Maybe I want to be wooed._

**(14:14) Hmm, how’s that going so far, lil bro?**

_(14:14) Great, thank you._

**(14:15) Sugar daddies don’t count in this conversation.**

_(14:15) I never had a sugar daddy._

**(14:16) I’m thinking with my little brain, of something beginning with T???**

_(14:16) Torveld was a friend only. We never slept together._

**(14:17) MHMM!!**

**(14:17) look at least put Damen out of his misery and let me give Jord your number for him?**

_(14:18) …_

_(14:24) Give it 48 hours._

**(14:25) He might not care in 48 hours**

_(14:26) Then it wasn’t meant to be._

**(14:26) Laurent seriously**

**(14:27) That’s not how it works in this day and age. 2018, remember?**

_(14:28) This society is so full of instant gratification, Auguste._

**(14:29) Oh god don’t even finish that thought**

***

By ten that night, Laurent was pretty sure he’d made a mistake. He was doing his best to put it out of his mind, to put Damen far away from his mind’s eye, because he’d probably never see him again, so there was really no point in dwelling on it.

But no. He’d fucked up.

By the next morning, he had no notifications on any social media (which, really, had been a long shot, anyway) and no texts from Auguste about anything. Laurent briefly considered caving and texting him first, saying, “Yeah, give my number to Jord for Damen!” but he was not going to do that. He was too stubborn and knew before even finishing the thought in his mind that it wasn’t going to happen.

It was just a fling, and not even that, and had maybe five minutes total of interaction. Part of that five minutes, however, had involved Laurent touching some perfectly formed pectoral muscles, and he would just have to face up to the fact that he was probably never going to top that. (He ignored the tiny voice in the back of his head saying that one day he might enthusiastically bottom for it, though.)

Laurent went through his day, concentrating very little on any of his tasks, and instead using all that energy to berate himself for lingering so much on the events of yesterday.

 

**(19:41) Want me to give your number away**

_(19:41) No!!_

And now Laurent had something else to hate himself for.

***

Two days after the gym incident was a Friday, and Laurent was still very much disliking himself for everything he’d done since then. Which was nothing. Except be stubborn and mean to Auguste, even though Laurent knew he was just trying to help.

Friday – or this Friday, at least – meant that Laurent was going out. He wasn’t one for parties, usually. Like, at all. He was, however, a total sucker for a costume party, which was exactly what this was.

Auguste had been given the night off by his girlfriend (though he would’ve stayed and been happy to if she’d asked – and would probably feel guilty for being out and away from her and their daughter the entire night, anyway) so Laurent wasn’t going to be alone at some random house.

He didn’t even know whose house this _was_ when he and Auguste got out of their Uber in one of the better areas of town. They might’ve grown up fairly close to here, but since they’d both moved to more modest apartment blocks in the city, it felt weird to be back.

‘Whose party is this?’ Laurent asked, tugging on the laced-up front of his jacket to make it sit straight.

‘Uh, Jord’s,’ Auguste said distractedly, as they walked up the winding driveway towards the main house.

‘Jord can afford a place like this?’ Laurent said doubtfully, glancing pointedly at the manor house and its collection of Ionic columns around the front porch.

‘Ah, no, not exactly,’ Auguste said, his voice pitching up at the end.

Laurent turned slowly towards him. ‘Auguste, who lives here?’

‘Hypothetically –’

‘Oh, this will be good.’

‘Shut up. How mad, hypothetically, would be you be if this was Damen’s house?’ Auguste said in a rush. ‘Hypothetically.’

‘You’ll find out when I get hold of a knife,’ Laurent muttered darkly. ‘I don’t think he wants to talk to me, Auguste, let alone have me at his house.’

‘But it’s a costume party!’

Laurent groaned. ‘Is that supposed to make me feel better?’

‘You love costume parties!’

‘I also love not running into people I almost fucked in gym locker rooms!’ Laurent hissed. ‘Why did you think this was a good idea?’

‘You’d already agreed before you met Damen!’ Auguste said, throwing his hands up. ‘Look, we’re here now, and this house is big enough that you can just hide somewhere until it’s time to leave.’

‘And that’s _exactly_ what I’m going to do,’ Laurent said, as they made their way up the steps and into the foyer.

Music was playing loudly from somewhere, ferried through the house on a series of large speakers set up in different rooms. People were everywhere, most with red solo cups in their hands, grinding against anything and everything that moved. Or not, as Laurent had a butt on him almost instantly.

He moved away and followed Auguste through to where drinks were apparently coming from, keeping an eye out for Damen anywhere.

They ended up in the kitchen, raiding the fridge with Jord’s permission for a bottle of water. Laurent was half-tempted to get something stronger to make it through the party, but if he _was_ going to run into Damen again, he didn’t want to be drunk and make an even bigger fool out of himself.

‘You know, he’s probably dancing somewhere,’ Auguste said, watching the way Laurent kept flicking his eyes around. ‘He’s a social butterfly.’

Laurent narrowed his eyes and unscrewed the cap of his water to take a sip. ‘Shut up.’

‘I’m just saying,’ Auguste shrugged. ‘I’m going to play beer pong. Catch you later?’

‘Yeah, whatever, _traitor_.’

Laurent watched Auguste leave, the edge of his cape swiping through some sticky gunk on the floor, and considered his next move. He wouldn’t know anyone here, probably, except Auguste’s friends. And Damen – but he was avoiding Damen.

He hadn’t contacted Laurent within 48 hours of the gym incident, which officially struck him off the list of potentials in Laurent’s mind. Granted, Damen hadn’t exactly known about this, so it wasn’t his fault, but still. It also meant the list of Laurent’s potential suitors had slipped down to zero again. Hmm.

Laurent decided to explore the house, maybe make his way to a garden or something where it wouldn’t be as loud and full of people. Maybe, in an ideal situation, he’d even find a dog. Or a cat. Or a horse. He knew from experience that people with houses like this could be a little eccentric, so a horse was not entirely out of the question.

The house was, as it turned out, a bit of a maze. There were some cool things floating around, though, and Laurent spent a good few minutes in a hallway on the upper floor looking at paintings and some statues, including a half size replica of the Nike of Samothrace.

The further Laurent wove into the house, the less noise he heard, and the more he felt like he might be a little out of bounds. He started backtracking, walking back past the paintings and statues, and stopped again. He had definitely come through a hallway here _somewhere_. Surely this led to the stairs to go back down?

‘Are you lost?’

Laurent spun around, clutching his water bottle like he could use it as a weapon, and was faced by a beautiful, blonde woman with cold eyes. ‘No, not at all.’

She raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. ‘Hall on the left leads to a staircase that takes you to the kitchen. Just keep going straight until you hit the door that looks like it’s haunted. Old servant’s access.’

‘Oh,’ Laurent said, relaxing a little. ‘Thanks.’

‘Are you related to Auguste?’ she asked. ‘His brother, right?’

‘Maybe.’

‘I’m Jokaste,’ she said, like it was supposed to mean something to him. ‘Damen’s friend.’

Laurent groaned. ‘Haunted door, right?’

‘Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell him you’re here. Auguste already got to me. He does want to see you again, though.’

‘Who, my brother?’

‘No, Damen. So go easy on him, okay? He’s a good guy.’

‘I’ve heard,’ Laurent muttered, as he headed for the hall she’d pointed out.

He found the door Jokaste had mentioned, and followed the spiral stairs down to another door that opened in a small hall by the kitchen, as she’d said it would. Laurent briefly entertained the thought of whether everything she had said was true, but decided that would be a waste of time, and set his attention on finding a way out of the house again.

The clearest route seemed to be through the designated dancing room, where people were spilling out into a courtyard by a pool. Laurent pushed his way through the crowd, ignoring how much sweat from other people would be on his clothing by the time he was out.

Once he was outside, the fresh air washed over him, and a light breeze ruffled his hair gently. He headed towards a wrought iron bench by a cluster of topiary bushes and sat, tilting his head towards the sky. He was so glad to be outside. Parties like this were not his forte, even if he was a sucker for a costume party at any given point.

No one he’d seen had been taking it very seriously, with a lot of cheap tutu variations of emergency service workers. There were a few people who might’ve spent a decent hour or two on zombie make up, but also a bunch of guys wearing minion onesies, so it was a very mixed lot.

Laurent’s own costume was less of a costume, and more of an extreme version of what he usually wore. It was just more laces, less buttons, and a slightly higher neck. The dark fabric always felt suffocating in crowds, like it was just a little too tight, but outside he had no problems with it. It felt like armour, most of the time – no one could touch him.

‘I heard you were here.’

Laurent looked back from the stars to see Damen approaching. It seemed that he had taken the dress code more seriously than some people, wearing a chiton that fell at mid-thigh, sandals strapped up his lower leg, and a short red cape pinned to his shoulder. Laurent ignored that the golden laurel crown he could see peeking around the sides of Damen’s head was similar to his own limited jewellery, a delicate circlet mostly hidden by his hair.

‘Having fun?’ Damen asked, sitting on the bench beside him.

‘Would you like me to be honest?’ Laurent asked, absently picking at the label of his water bottle.

‘You don’t need to. Auguste told me parties aren’t really your thing.’

‘Crowds at parties,’ Laurent corrected. ‘I’m not that great with people in this… atmosphere.’

‘But you came anyway.’

‘I didn’t know it was your party. I can leave, if you –’

‘Woah, no, Laurent, that wasn’t at all what I meant,’ Damen said quickly. ‘You’re more than welcome to stay.’

Laurent stopped fidgeting and looked up to Damen. ‘Say that again.’

‘You can stay, I don’t want you to –’

‘No,’ Laurent interrupted. ‘You know my name.’

‘Oh,’ Damen gave him an easy smile. ‘Yeah. I did a bit of, uh, stalking. Sorry.’

‘It’s fine,’ Laurent said, laughing lightly in surprise. ‘I didn’t expect you to have figured it out.’

‘It was one of the first things I did when I got home. You’re hard to pin down.’

‘Literally or figuratively?’

‘Hopefully not both.’

Laurent rolled his eyes, but smiled good naturedly. ‘Just because you know my name doesn’t mean we’re going to just…’

‘I know.’ Damen stretched his legs out, pulling his chiton down a little. ‘I like your costume.’

‘Thanks. I like yours, too.’

‘I’m a king,’ Damen said, touching the laurels briefly.

‘I’m a prince, I guess,’ Laurent said, pushing his hair aside to show the circlet on his head.

‘I outrank you.’

‘Not necessarily, it just means you’re old.’

‘Ouch,’ Damen laughed. ‘What’s Auguste meant to be?’ he asked, nodding to where Laurent’s brother was bopping along to the music next to the pool, his phone stretched in front of him, as he Facetimed his girlfriend.

‘Zorro, I think. He might’ve lost the mask, though.’

Damen hummed thoughtfully and turned to Laurent. ‘This is going to sound stupid, but can I try something?’

Laurent raised an eyebrow. ‘Like what?’

‘We haven’t been formally introduced,’ Damen said, swivelling on the bench and holding a hand out. ‘I’m Damianos. People call me Damen.’

‘Laurent,’ he said, taking Damen’s hand lightly. ‘People call me Laurent.’

‘It’s a pleasure to meet you,’ Damen said seriously. ‘Can I be a little inappropriate?’

‘Again? Remember how this last turned out?’

‘Shh,’ Damen waved a hand dismissively. ‘I know we’ve just met, but I would very much like to take you on a date.’

‘Court.’

Damen blinked. ‘Pardon.’

‘This is a costume party, right?’ Laurent said. ‘If we were who we’re dressed as, it would be courting. Gentle words, stolen kisses…’

‘Asking someone for permission to da- _court_ you?’

‘Exactly.’

Damen pursed his lips, then quickly stood. ‘One moment,’ he said, rushing off towards where Auguste was still on his phone. He gestured to where Laurent was sitting, stunned, and Auguste turned around, the grin on his face being lit up by the party indoors.

Damen came back a moment later, kneeling in front of Laurent on the bench. ‘I have gained permission. What now?’

Laurent looked between Damen and his brother behind him, giving him a thumbs up from beside the pool. ‘I hadn’t…’

‘Yeah, neither had I,’ Damen said, getting up and sitting back on the bench. ‘Would you want to dance?’

‘Not… not really.’

‘Okay, cool. How are you with poker?’

‘Poker?’

‘Yeah, my buddy, Nik. He’s got a game going upstairs, if you want to join,’ Damen said. ‘Don’t have to.’

‘No, that sounds fun,’ Laurent said, standing up. ‘Lead the way.’

‘Oh! Sure, yeah,’ Damen grinned. ‘Follow me.’

He led Laurent through the main party area, back up the stairs and down one of the hallways that looked vaguely familiar from earlier. They went past the gallery of paintings and statues, and something occurred to Laurent.

‘Is it an invite only game?’

‘Kinda, yeah,’ Damen nodded. ‘But that’s more to stop random people from coming and joining.’

‘I think I might’ve come a bit too close to finding the game, then,’ Laurent said. ‘Someone named Jokaste appeared and pointed me in the right direction to get back to the kitchen.’

‘You were up here?’

‘Sorry,’ Laurent blushed. ‘I was trying to find somewhere to get some air that wasn’t outside. I was hoping to find a dog or something.’

‘It’s fine, don’t worry. My parents take the dog with them when they go out of town.’

‘Damn,’ Laurent muttered, as they drew to a stop outside a large door made of dark wood.

Damen did a series of knocks on it, and the door was opened from inside by a guy as equally large and beautiful as him, also dressed in a chiton. ‘Hey, buddy.’

‘Hey, man,’ the guy said, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at Laurent. ‘Who’s he?’

‘Laurent. He’s with me.’

‘Hmm.’

‘Dude, it’s my house,’ Damen said, rolling his eyes.

‘It’s my game,’ the other guy shrugged, but opened the door and waved them in. ‘Welcome to Purgatory.’

‘Purgatory?’ Laurent asked, looking around what appeared to be a games room. The large table by an open balcony had been set up and commandeered for poker, but a couple of other people were playing some kind of motion-controlled game on the other side of the room.

‘Yeah, come atone for your sins,’ the guy said.

Damen huffed in amusement. ‘Everyone, this is Laurent. Laurent, this is Pallas and Lazar, Aimeric, Jord and Jokaste you know, and that was Nikandros.’

‘Only my mother calls me that,’ Nikandros whined. ‘Just call me Nik.’

‘Don’t listen to him,’ Damen said, as he pulled out a chair for Laurent and they were dealt into the next hand. ‘Call him Nikandros.’

‘I feel like I’m in trouble whenever I get called that,’ Nik grumbled. ‘Bad memories, huh, Damianos?’

‘It was always your fault whenever we got the Damianos and Nikandros speech,’ Damen said absently, as he looked through his cards.

‘Hey, Damianos, get rekt,’ Nik said, and the misspelling was audible. ‘At least one broken window was your fault.’

‘They were probably all my fault, but I’m happy to see you taking the blame.’

‘It’s what a right-hand man does for his king,’ Nik said solemnly, though it was ruined somewhat by the grin he was sporting behind his cards.

‘You two are idiots,’ Jokaste announced. ‘Are we playing or not?’

‘Normal or what?’ Nik asked the table. ‘Votes?’

The guys (and single girl) looked around and collectively announced, ‘Strip.’

‘Wait, this is strip poker?’ Laurent asked.

‘Yeah, that an issue?’ Nik asked, eyeing Laurent’s tightly laced clothing.

‘Oh, no, not really,’ Laurent shrugged. ‘But you’re all going to be getting a bit cold with that balcony open by the time I’m through with you.’

‘You think you’re going to win?’

‘No, I _know_ I’m going to win.’

True to his word, within a fairly short period of time, Laurent had them down to their boxers, or slip, in Jokaste’s case, and very embarrassingly, a naked Jord. He, however, had only so far needed to remove his jacket.

‘I think we should stop playing poker,’ Jord said, crossing his legs at an attempt to maintain some modesty. It didn’t work.

‘Why?’ Laurent asked, as he shuffled and dealt cards.

‘What else am I going to take off? My skin?’

Damen shrugged. ‘You could always do a dare or something.’

‘Oh no. No way. Your dares always involve me embarrassing myself while naked.’

‘You’re already naked,’ one of the other guys, Pallas, pointed out. ‘And you’re already embarrassing yourself.’

‘You in the mood to skinny dip?’ Lazar asked, sipping casually from a bottle of beer. ‘I know there are some people around you’d be interested in having see you naked.’

‘I am _right_ here,’ Aimeric said exasperatedly, ‘and I see it every night, so it’s not really special.’

Lazar turned to him and blinked. ‘I forgot you were here.’

‘Wait, I’m not special?’ Jord asked. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘It means you’re not special,’ Nik said dryly.

‘Be nice,’ Jokaste said. ‘It doesn’t mean he’s not special.’

‘Thank you,’ Jord said. ‘At least someone is on my side.’

‘No, it just means he’s not special _anymore_ ,’ she continued. ‘Sorry.’

‘You’re not sorry,’ Damen scoffed. ‘You still haven’t apologised for fucking Kastor.’

‘Wait, who’s Kastor?’ Laurent asked, making everyone turn to him, like they’d forgotten he was there, too.

‘My brother,’ Damen frowned. ‘While we were dating.’

‘You two dated?’

‘That might be too strong of a word,’ Jokaste said, picking up the cards Laurent had dealt her.

‘We were living together in an apartment with our names both on the lease,’ Damen said stiffly. ‘She was fucking other people, I wasn’t.’

‘Wow, I did not expect to dig up these feelings,’ Laurent muttered.

‘I’m feeling some tension in the air,’ Lazar said grandly. ‘Damen, which rooms aren’t in use right now?’

‘Uh, most of them?’ Damen said, distractedly. ‘Why?’

‘Pallas –’

‘If you fuck in my bed, I’ll make you buy me a new one.’

Lazar looked at Pallas, and they shrugged at the same time, getting up and leaving the room.

‘I mean it!’ Damen yelled after them, before he turned back to the table. ‘What are we doing?’

‘They kind of had a good idea,’ Jord said, standing and holding his costume over himself. ‘Aimeric –’

‘Am I witnessing the beginning of an orgy right now?’ Laurent asked nobody in particular.

‘Ew, no,’ Aimeric said, glancing warily at Jord. ‘Not that –’

‘Absolutely _no_ orgies in my bed,’ Damen said loudly. ‘None. Go fuck in Kastor’s bed.’

‘I sleep in Kastor’s bed, though,’ Jokaste protested.

‘Oh, we know you do,’ Nik snorted. ‘Jord, make sure the entire room would glow under black light.’

‘We’ll do our best,’ Aimeric grinned, grabbing Jord’s hand and pulling him from the room, too.

That left just Damen and Laurent, Jokaste and Nik sitting at the table, with four piles of abandoned cards.

‘Okay, well,’ Nik said, pushing up off the table. ‘I don’t want to see any of you more naked than you currently are, so I’m going downstairs to play beer pong.’

‘We’ll come,’ Damen said quickly, tugging on Laurent’s hand.

Laurent didn’t need much convincing, because the last thing he wanted was to be left here with Jokaste. Who was apparently Damen’s ex? And had slept with his brother? It wasn’t his problem, but that didn’t mean he wanted to deal with the aftermath of having heard about it.

He grabbed his jacket and followed Damen and Nik out of the room, before he could get lost again. They had stopped just in front of the door to the spiral staircase to put their chitons back together, and were laughing as they stabbed each other with pins to do so.

‘Laurent,’ Damen smiled, as they opened the door to go back down. ‘You wanna play beer pong?’

‘I don’t drink,’ Laurent said. ‘But if you do it for me, then sure.’

‘That’s not how the game works,’ Nik said, as they headed downstairs. ‘You’ve gotta drink yourself.’

Laurent shrugged. ‘I just won’t play, it’s fine.’

‘Are you sure?’ Damen asked. ‘I’ll take yours, if you want.’

‘I’ll just watch,’ Laurent said. ‘Have fun.’

Damen and Nik exchanged a high-five as they entered the kitchen, following the flow of people through to a dining room that was far too formal for beer pong, but was happening in there, anyway.

Laurent shifted to the side of the room as they set up the game, gathering a few other people to play against. Laurent had no idea how to play beer pong, except that it involved drinking cups of cheap beer when a ball landed in it. He hopped up onto an expensive looking sideboard, feeling guilty as he did so, and swung his legs lightly, being careful not to kick the wooden panelling at all.

He heard Auguste’s voice from the other side of the room, and saw his brother weaving through the gathered crowd to meet him.

‘Hey!’ Auguste grinned, leaning on the sideboard beside Laurent. ‘How’s your night going?’

‘Good, I think.’

‘You think? You’re not sure? I heard you and Damen disappeared upstairs together,’ Auguste waggled his eyebrows suggestively and barked a laugh at the look on Laurent’s face. ‘I’m messing with you, I know nothing happened.’

‘We played poker,’ Laurent said. ‘Strip poker.’

‘Oh man, how naked did you get them?’

Laurent smiled. ‘Jord, entirely. Everyone else down to their unmentionables.’

‘And you?’

‘Just the jacket, which was more of a mercy loss, because I was getting a bit warm from the embarrassment of being so good.’

Auguste laughed again, holding his hand out for a fist bump from a reluctant Laurent. ‘Was it worth anything?’

‘Just the pleasure of their company.’

Auguste paused, studying his brother with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. ‘You like him.’

‘Who?’

‘Damen.’

Laurent fought the blush he could feel creeping over his skin, but knew from the way that Auguste’s smile changed that he’d seen it. There wasn’t really a point in denying it, and besides, he trusted his brother implicitly – he was also his best friend. ‘Yeah,’ Laurent said softly, watching the way Damen and Nik roared triumphantly, as they landed a ball in a cup of the other team. ‘I do.’

Laurent thought Damen must’ve somehow heard his admission over the noise of the crowd, because he looked over and grinned at him, laughing when the apparently obvious flush on Laurent’s skin deepened.

‘Good,’ Auguste said, putting a gentle hand on Laurent’s shoulder. ‘I’m happy you’re happy. He’ll be good for you.’

‘Just because I like him doesn’t mean anything is going to happen between us,’ Laurent said quietly.

‘Do you want something to?’

‘That’s beside the point.’

‘No, it’s not. You’re allowed to go after things you want, Laurent.’

‘I don’t –’

‘Yes,’ Auguste interrupted. ‘You do.’

‘You don’t even know what I was going to say,’ Laurent huffed. ‘I don’t know if I want… anything.’

Auguste rolled his eyes. ‘You do. You just enjoy denying yourself things. Let yourself have something because you _want_ it.’

‘But what if…’ Laurent trailed off, as his gaze drifted back to where Damen was helping Nik line up a shot. ‘What if he doesn’t actually want this?’

‘He asked me for permission to date you,’ Auguste pointed out. ‘And hasn’t left your side since, except to play beer pong, which I’m assuming is only because you don’t drink.’

Laurent frowned. ‘I suppose it’s possible.’

‘It’s possible. Just have a little faith.’

‘In what?’

Auguste patted Laurent on the cheek. ‘Love. I’m going to go dance. I’ll catch up with you later.’

‘I think I might want to leave soon, so if you want to stay, I’ll just catch an Uber by myself.’

‘I feel bad leaving Kash by herself, so I’ll leave when you do. Find me when you want to leave, yeah?’

‘Okay,’ Laurent nodded. ‘And stop feeling guilty. Kashel said you could go out.’

‘I know, but I miss her!’ Auguste said, already drifting into the crowd.

Laurent smiled as he watched his brother leave and turned his attention back to the beer pong table. Damen and Nik seemed to have won, but Laurent had no idea about the rules, so couldn’t really tell for certain, but Damen was leaving the table and approaching where Laurent sat on the sideboard.

‘Hey,’ Damen said, giving him an easy smile. ‘I saw you talking with Auguste. Everything okay?’

‘Everything is fine,’ Laurent said. ‘We’re thinking of heading off soon.’

‘Already?’

Laurent shrugged. ‘He misses Kashel.’

‘Ah. Do you want to go back upstairs? Pretty sure we could steal the TV and play Mario Kart or something.’

‘If it’s okay with you,’ Laurent said slowly. ‘I’d actually love to see the art you’ve got here. I wandered into a small gallery upstairs with a miniature Nike of Samothrace.’

Damen grinned. ‘You like that sort of thing?’

‘Classical art? I think it’s very graceful. Works from the Hellenistic period are beautiful.’

‘Not a fan of Archaic style? I’m basically a kouros.’

Laurent gave him a wry smile. ‘I prefer Hellenistic.’

‘Ouch, but I suppose I have something you’ll like, then,’ Damen said, as he offered his hand to help Laurent hop down from the sideboard. ‘Come with me.’

Intrigued, Laurent took the proffered hand lightly and swung down beside Damen. ‘Where are we going?’

‘Just trust me,’ Damen said, tightening his grip a little on Laurent’s hand.

Laurent tensed, but allowed it, eventually squeezing back and following Damen through the maze of the house. They left back into the foyer and went through one of the corridors beneath the staircase, following it through a series of turns and passing a series of doors.

When they reached the end of the corridor, heading past more art Laurent had wanted to stop and inspect, Damen paused. ‘Ready?’ he murmured.

‘For what?’

Damen grinned, twisting the handle of a door in front of them. There was a long panel of frosted glass in the door, through which Laurent couldn’t see much, but when it opened, he instinctively clutched Damen’s hand a little tighter.

The ceiling of the room was entirely glass, as were much of the walls, and under the light of the moon overhead, the statues that filled the room almost appeared to glow. The stars twinkling in the sky were visible too, making it feel like they were outside. The room was silent, save for the gentle rushing of water somewhere, and smelled earthy. Laurent looked around and saw vines climbing sections of the walls on carefully placed trellis.

‘Oh my God,’ Laurent whispered. ‘This…’

Damen pulled Laurent in behind him as he shut the door, heading down the series of small steps. ‘What do you think?’

Laurent dropped his hand and wandered through the conservatory, looking up at the marble figures on their pedestals. Some of the statues closer to the walls had ivy slowly crawling its way over them, and it looked the way Laurent felt about his burgeoning relationship with Damen – something alive and bright winning over something cold and unfeeling. Laurent supposed he could argue he wasn’t entirely unfeeling, because right now he was feeling a lot of things.

‘Laurent?’

Laurent turned to Damen and away from the reproduction of the Barberini Faun he had been admiring. ‘I love it.’

‘I thought you might,’ Damen said. ‘My parents collect Greek statues, and I think it might have clued them in to my sexuality that I spent as much time looking at marble dicks as I did the, uh, statues of half-naked women.’

Laurent laughed lightly. ‘Did you know the Ancient Greeks thought a small penis was better, which is why all the statues are a little under-endowed?’

‘I grew up surrounded by them,’ Damen grinned. ‘You think I didn’t Google why?’

‘Oh, no, of course not. Just a typical teenage boy obsessed with dicks, right?’

‘Right, exactly.’

‘I do really like this, though,’ Laurent said, serious once more. ‘Thank you.’

‘You’re welcome to come back any time you’d like. It’s nice to read in here when it rains.’

‘I’ll bet.’

‘Also good for stargazing,’ Damen added, as he brought Laurent to a low chaise lounge towards the end of the room. ‘I used to sleep down here in the summer.’

‘That sounds nice,’ Laurent said, sitting on the chaise, legs crossed under him. ‘Damen?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Are you trying to woo me?’

In the bright light of the moon, Laurent saw Damen tilt his head down, almost as if he was embarrassed. ‘That depends if it’s working.’

Laurent bit his lip and shifted so he was facing Damen. He put his hand on Damen’s cheek and turned him gently towards him. ‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘It’s working.’

Damen looked up and studied Laurent’s face. He must’ve decided what he saw there was worth taking a chance for, because he leaned a little closer, giving Laurent time to put a stop to this.

Laurent, instead, closed the distance, kissing him lightly. Once, twice, and pulled back. ‘Sorry.’

‘Why?’ Damen asked, chasing a little after the hand Laurent took from his face.

‘I shouldn’t have done that.’

‘I disagree.’

‘Do you?’

‘Very much so.’

‘Oh.’

Damen used the tip of his finger to trace the line of Laurent’s jaw, pausing momentarily when Laurent closed his eyes and let out a small breath. ‘I would like to do that again, if it’s okay with you.’

Laurent opened his eyes, brilliant blue in the light of the moon. ‘That’s okay with me.’

Damen’s hand trailed around the back of Laurent’s neck, landing at the nape and gently tugging him forward and pressing their mouths together again.

Laurent smiled into the kiss and took advantage of the situation to get his hands on Damen’s bare arms. He’d been watching him walk around in this chiton the whole night, admiring the muscles, and they felt just as good under his hands as he’d imagined. In fact, he’d been thinking about them since he saw Damen at the gym.

Damen was moving them now, so he was hovering above where Laurent was lying on the chaise. He had one arm around Laurent’s back, and his other hand was curled around Laurent’s calf, hitching it to his hip.

Somehow this had become a little more heated than Laurent had intended, as Damen swiped his tongue against Laurent’s lower lip, taking it between his teeth when he let out a small sigh. Laurent found he didn’t mind, though, and slid his hands up to tangle in Damen’s hair, threading his fingers into the curls on the back of his neck and becoming hindered by the laurel crown still very much attached to him.

‘Damen,’ Laurent breathed, as the man in question moved his mouth down to the side of Laurent’s neck, just under his ear. ‘Damen, wait.’

‘Is everything okay?’ Damen asked, stopping immediately and waiting for an answer.

‘Everything is fine, more than fine,’ Laurent said. ‘But I can’t. Not right now.’

Damen hesitated a moment, but sat up. ‘I understand.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘No, Laurent, it’s fine, I promise. I’m the host, I probably shouldn’t be away in a deserted corner of the house, anyway.’

‘I should… go. Auguste –’

‘Misses Kashel,’ Damen nodded. ‘I know, it’s okay.’

Laurent stood and waited, unsure what to do now. It was a little awkward. ‘I might need you to take me back to the front of the house. I need to find my brother.’

‘Yeah, of course,’ Damen said, standing and leading them back through the conservatory. He paused by the door, reaching for the handle. ‘I’m sorry if I did anything to make you uncomfortable. That wasn’t my intention at all.’

Laurent raised his eyebrows in surprise. ‘You think you did something?’

‘Didn’t I?’

‘No, not at all.’

‘Oh,’ Damen opened the door and ushered Laurent back through. He looked like he wanted to say more, but remained quiet as he led Laurent back to where the party was happening in the front rooms. ‘Do you want me to go find Auguste so you can skip the crowd?’

‘No, thank you, it’s fine,’ Laurent said, dithering uncharacteristically next to Damen in the doorway, before he plunged into the room of dancing people. It took him a few minutes to find Auguste, but he eventually did, sitting outside with Jord and Aimeric.

‘Laurent?’ Auguste asked, looking up as he approached. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes. Are you ready to leave?’

‘Sure, I’ll just call an Uber. You want to sit?’

‘No, I’d prefer to stand. How far is the Uber?’

‘Uhh…’ Auguste waited for the info to appear and glanced back up. ‘About eight minutes.’

Laurent nodded. ‘I’ll be at the front of the house. Jord, Aimeric, it was a pleasure beating you at poker.’

‘Next time we’ll get more than just the jacket off you,’ Jord grinned, raising his bottle of beer in farewell, as Laurent turned to leave.

He made his way back through the dancing people and to the front of the house, stepping back out through the heavy double doors and sitting at the base of one of the columns. Laurent leaned against the cool marble and let out a deep breath, as he swung his legs over the edge of the porch, boots barely skimming the buxus below.

‘Hey, is it okay if I sit?’

Laurent looked up to see Damen standing behind him. ‘Sure,’ he said, looking back to the road. ‘It’s your house.’

Damen hummed thoughtfully and dropped onto the ground next to him, stretching his legs out and leaning back on his hands. ‘You don’t have to say anything, but I just didn’t want you sitting out here alone.’

‘I don’t mind being alone.’

‘I’m beginning to gather that.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘Just… Never mind.’

Laurent sighed. ‘Sorry. It’s been a very strange night.’

‘Has it?’ Damen asked. ‘Actually, I suppose it has. I’m basically sober, and I willingly showed someone the statue collection without being embarrassed to do so.’

‘Why are you embarrassed of them?’

‘I’m not, really. Some people just think it’s weird to have a room basically dedicated to marble dicks, you know?’

‘It almost made me miss living in extravagant, ridiculous places like this.’

‘Almost?’ Damen repeated. ‘You wouldn’t come back here if you had the choice?’

‘Would you?’ Laurent asked, turning to face him.

‘I might. It was nice not having to pay my own rent and things like that, but I like living away from home. I like having a space that’s mine.’

‘I wouldn’t come back,’ Laurent said quietly. ‘Not to home.’

‘Why not?’

Laurent closed his eyes for a moment, trying to force back the memories and the acid roiling in his gut. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

Damen must’ve picked up on Laurent’s tone, because he didn’t push it, allowing the quiet to come over them and stay there until Auguste burst through the doors.

‘Uber’s around the corner,’ Auguste said, narrowing his eyes as he read the mood between his brother and friend. ‘Did I interrupt something?’

‘No,’ Laurent said, pushing himself up. ‘Thank you, Damen, for your hospitality tonight.’

‘Oh, uh, you’re welcome,’ Damen said, standing alongside them. ‘Thanks for coming.’

Auguste nudged Laurent as their ride pulled up, and slapped Damen on the shoulder, as he headed down the steps towards the car. ‘Let’s go.’

Laurent pursed his lips, trying to decide what he should do in this situation, and eventually settled for quickly leaning up and pressing a quick kiss to Damen’s cheek. ‘Goodbye.’

Damen lifted his hand to his cheek as he watched Laurent follow his brother to the car. ‘Yeah,’ he murmured. ‘Bye.’

***

‘You okay?’ Auguste asked, as he and Laurent made their way home. ‘You wanna stay with me and Kash tonight?’

Laurent glanced sideways at his brother incredulously, but nodded. ‘Yeah. Is that okay?’

‘It’s fine, you know that,’ Auguste said, getting out his phone, presumably to text Kashel and ask her to have the couch ready. ‘Should I ask?’

Laurent was quiet for a few moments, fiddling with the laces on the sleeves of his jacket. ‘Just some invasive memories.’

Auguste bit his lip and tucked his phone back into his pocket. ‘Was it what I think it was?’

‘Yes.’

‘Okay,’ Auguste nodded. ‘We don’t have to talk about it.’ He put his hand, palm up, in the middle seat between them, turning his attention out the window.

After a moment’s hesitation, Laurent took his hand lightly, and felt Auguste squeeze back.

***

‘You okay?’ Nik asked, as Damen came back into the house, shutting the door firmly behind him.

‘Huh?’ Damen asked, not having even noticed Nik was there. ‘Yeah, I’m good. Why?’

‘You look a little out of it.’

‘Laurent kissed me,’ Damen said, smiling dopily.

‘Ah,’ Nik rolled his eyes. ‘Yep. That’d do it.’

‘Nik, he’s like… so pretty.’

‘Pretty.’

‘And smart.’

‘Is he, now?’

‘And like… I think I’ve got a crush on him.’

‘You know,’ Nik said, swinging up onto the counter as they entered the kitchen. ‘I probably could’ve told you that about an hour ago.’

‘Really?’ Damen asked, hopping up onto the island opposite him. ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’

Nik shrugged. ‘I’m used to your shit by now. Pass me those Doritos?’

Damen tossed him the bag next to his butt and started munching on the bowl of baby carrots and hummus on his other side. ‘I asked his brother for permission to date him.’

‘Uh, why?’

‘It, uh…’ Damen bit a carrot in half and gestured vaguely in the air. ‘It made sense at the time.’

‘What was happening at the time?’

‘We were talking about how I was dressed as a king, and he was a prince, and how if it was real, we’d be courting and not dating… I think that’s how it led to me asking Auguste for permission.’ Damen frowned, double dipping into the hummus and chewing the carrot thoughtfully. ‘Laurent appreciated it.’

‘What else did Laurent appreciate?’

‘The statues.’

Nik groaned. ‘That,’ he said, pointing a chip at him meaningfully, ‘was a terrible idea. They’re, like, the number one cockblock in this house.’

‘Debatable,’ Damen grinned. ‘He liked them.’

‘Oh, great, another fucking sculpture nerd,’ Nik rolled his eyes. ‘I love you, but you gotta not show people your collection of dicks.’

‘Okay,’ Damen said, throwing a carrot at his friend. ‘You _know_ that’s not the only collection of dicks I have –’

‘Oh, _dude_!’

‘Shut up, you know it’s not. You’ve walked in on me with the _actual_ dick collection, so stop being a baby about statues.’

‘And _you_ know that’s something I would much rather forget. I can never wash the memory of that moment off myself, and it’s stuck in my head forever.’

‘You’re being ridiculous.’

‘Am I though?’ Nik asked, throwing the same baby carrot back at Damen. ‘I didn’t need to see you going ham on that thing.’

‘You should be honoured you got to watch me go ham on that thing,’ Damen sniffed. ‘It’s the only time I’ve managed to –’

‘This conversation is done!’ Nik said loudly. ‘Where were you going with your story about Laurent?’

‘Oh,’ Damen smiled again. ‘We started making out on the chaise in the conservatory.’

‘Statue kink, huh?’

‘Shut up. No, he kind of freaked out. I don’t know if it was me, or what, but he said it wasn’t.’

‘Do you think it was you?’

‘I don’t know,’ Damen said, eating another baby carrot as he thought back over that moment. ‘Maybe it just got a little too heated.’

‘What did you do? Stick your hand in his pants three seconds after the get-go?’

‘No,’ Damen frowned. ‘I just like… kissed his neck.’

Nik raised an eyebrow, holding out the bag of Doritos in a silent gesture to swap it for the carrots. ‘You think he’s… you know?’

‘Think he’s what?’

‘Think he might be a virgin?’

‘I don’t know. He seemed okay when we almost did it at the gym.’

‘You almost fucked someone at the gym?’ Nik scoffed and scooped some hummus onto his carrot. ‘That’s gross, dude.’

‘Okay, it could be worse. It’s not like we were both sweaty and getting our rocks off over the weights bench, Nik.’

‘Were you sweaty, though? It was a gym.’

‘No,’ Damen paused. ‘Well, I was. He’d just had a shower.’

Nik frowned. ‘Wait, where were you?’

‘The locker room.’

‘Oh, _gross_. Damen, that’s nasty.’

‘It could be worse!’

‘Not by much!’ Nik threw a carrot at him. ‘You and your nasty ass fucking people in gym locker rooms.’

‘They are _sanitary_ ,’ Damen argued.

‘That’s highly debatable.’

‘Can we just get back to the point at hand?’

‘What, if your crush is a virgin? Are we fifteen year old girls?’

‘Nik,’ Damen rolled his eyes. ‘Can you just be helpful for like, a minute or so?’

‘Sure, one minute. Advice Nikandros is in the building.’

‘Great, what do I do?’

‘Are you asking me what you should do about whether or not Laurent has been deflowered?’

‘Yes.’

‘Well,’ Nik said, chewing thoughtfully on a carrot. ‘Ask him. If you think you’re gonna get to that point with him, having that conversation wouldn’t hurt. You don’t want to go into something neither of you are prepared to face. Would it be okay with you if he wasn’t?’

‘Wasn’t what? A virgin or deflowered?’

‘Either.’

Damen shovelled some guacamole into his mouth on a Dorito, immediately regretting it due to hating avocado, and grimaced.

‘Is that at the thought or the fact you hate avocado?’

‘Shut up,’ Damen said, swallowing and rinsing it down with some water. ‘I mean, whether or not Laurent was, it wouldn’t bother me.’

‘There’s your answer then.’

‘Uh, no, that’s not my answer at all.’

Nik raised a carrot to him. ‘Isn’t it?’

***

‘Need anything else?’ Kashel asked, setting the last pillow on the fold out couch.

‘This is great, thank you,’ Laurent said, hanging his jacket over the back of a chair by the dining table. ‘Thank you.’

‘You know you’re always welcome here,’ she said, patting him gently on the shoulder and looking around as Auguste came down the hall with some pyjamas.

‘Here,’ Auguste said, handing him the small pile. ‘You need me to wake you up tomorrow or anything?’

‘No, it’s okay. Day off tomorrow. Perks of working from home.’

Auguste smiled. ‘Or of being a stay at home dad, right?’

‘I imagine being a stay at home dad is the opposite of having a day off.’

‘It is,’ Kashel agreed. ‘Getting to go to work is having the day off.’

‘But you miss us,’ Auguste said. ‘Right?’

Kashel hummed. ‘Sure, honey. I’m going to bed,’ she said, giving Laurent a quick hug. ‘Sleep well.’

‘You too,’ Laurent smiled, turning to his brother as she left. ‘You got lucky with her.’

‘I know, right?’ Auguste said, smiling happily. ‘I’m gonna ask her to marry me.’

‘It’s about time.’

‘Yeah, I don’t know why I waited. I wanted to ask you something, actually.’

‘Me?’ Laurent asked, surprised. ‘Why?’

‘I wanted to know if it’s okay for me to give her Mom’s engagement ring,’ Auguste said quietly. ‘Seeing as there’s only one.’

‘You know I’m gay, right? I don’t really need a woman’s ring. Besides, Mom would like Kashel. She’d want her to have it.’

‘Yeah, that’s what I thought. I just wanted to ask. Also, because in case I freak out, I need you to remind me what a good idea this is.’

‘Auguste,’ Laurent said firmly. ‘It _is_ a good idea. You love her, yes?’

‘Very much.’

‘And you want to be with her? For the rest of your life?’

‘Yes.’

‘Then that’s your answer.’

Auguste grinned. ‘It is, isn’t it?’

‘I’ll be your best man,’ Laurent smiled. ‘Assuming you want me.’

‘Of course, I do. Who else would I ask?’

‘Jord? I don’t know.’

‘Jord?’ Auguste repeated. ‘No. You, my dear brother, are my ride or die. Besides, she hasn’t said yes, yet.’

‘But she will.’

‘I hope so.’

‘Me too,’ Auguste said softly. ‘Did you want to talk about what happened tonight? Whatever happened with you and Damen?’

‘I think it was just… too much at that point.’

‘Okay. Well. I’ll go to bed, I think. Call out if you need anything.’

‘I know,’ Laurent nodded. ‘There is something you can get me, actually.’

***

_(03:01) Sorry for last night._

(03:04) wait who is this?

_(03:05) Laurent. I got your number from Auguste._

(03:05) Laurent! Hey!

(03:05) it’s fine! sorry again if it was something i did

_(03:07) It wasn’t you. I hope I didn’t wake you._

(03:09) no no, we’re still awake cleaning up. everyone left about an hour ago and things are a mess

(03:10) jord and aimeric did bang in my bro’s bed tho so it’s okay lol

_(03:11) Oh._

_(03:11) Well I’m going to sleep now._

(03:12) okay, sure! text me whenever :) we can get coffee or something

(03:14) sleep well, Laurent.

***

‘He texted me,’ Damen said, smiling happily at Nik, who was using his arm to sweep cups off a table and into a garbage bag.

‘Who?’ Nik asked, grimacing in immediate regret.

‘Laurent.’

‘Congrats. Hey, what do I get for helping you clean up this mess?’

‘My unending love and gratitude.’

‘I already have that.’

‘What else do you _want_ from me?’ Damen asked, gingerly using two shards of plastic cup to pick up what he hoped was just a deflated balloon from… somewhere.

‘Right now, a shower. And to not hear you go all gooey over someone who hasn’t agreed to date you.’

‘He kinda did, though.’

Nik stopped what he was doing and gave Damen an incredulous glance across the room. ‘Did he, now?’

‘Kinda?’

‘ _Kinda_ isn’t yes, Damianos.’

‘I know, _Nikandros_ ,’ Damen rolled his eyes. ‘I suggested we go for coffee or something, so maybe we’ll get down some firmer details, I don’t know.’

‘Why are you so hung up on him?’ Nik asked. ‘It’s not because he looks like Jokaste, is it?’

‘No, it’s because he’s an interesting person in his own right who I would like to date. Is that okay with you?’

Nik held his hands up in surrender. ‘Buddy, if you’re happy, I’m happy. He just gives off the impression he could be a little… spikey.’

‘Spikey? What is he, a hedgehog?’

‘You tell me.’

Damen sighed. ‘You know what I want?’

‘What do you want?’

‘Jord to stop disappearing on his messes. This party was his idea.’

‘Yep,’ Nik said sympathetically. ‘And I’m sure one of these days he’ll remember that.’

‘Good, because he’s cleaning up the next one entirely by himself.’

‘Amen to that.’

***

‘Laura!’

Laurent kept his eyes tightly shut, debating burying himself under the blankets on the couch. If his niece was this cheerful, it couldn’t be more than eight in the morning.

‘Daddy, Laura’s sleeping,’ she whispered loudly from the foot of the couch.

‘He is, so should we leave him alone?’

‘Yep.’

‘Okay, let’s have some breakfast, and maybe Laurent will wake up.’

‘Yep.’

Laurent heard Auguste take little Hennike away and start making some food. From the excited squealing and sound of shells cracking, he figured it was scrambled eggs. Probably bacon too, because Hennike had recently discovered bacon, and, yep – there was the sound of the package being opened.

‘Laura,’ Hennike said, having scampered back to the living room. She put her tiny hand on Laurent’s face and patted him a few times. ‘Eggs?’

‘Hmm?’ Laurent said, feigning having just woken up. ‘What’s this about eggs?’

‘Daddy’s making eggs,’ she whispered. ‘And bacon.’

‘Eggs and bacon?’

‘Yep.’

Laurent rolled over, dislodging her hand and peering up at her from behind the blankets. ‘Ask Daddy to make coffee.’

Hennike nodded seriously and disappeared from sight. Moments later, Laurent heard her yell, ‘Coffee, Daddy!’

‘Does Laurent want coffee?’ Auguste asked. ‘Maybe if you give him a nice hug, he’ll get up and make some because Daddy is making food.’

Hennike reappeared in front of Laurent, a grin on her small face. She clambered up onto the couch and starfished over his ribs, trying to hug him from the weird vantage point she’d chosen. ‘Laura, are you awake?’

‘Yes, I’m awake,’ Laurent said, smiling despite himself. ‘Thank you, this is a nice hug.’

Hennike giggled and slid off, landing clumsily on the floor. ‘Up,’ she ordered.

‘I’m up.’

‘Good,’ she said, running back off to the kitchen, where she loudly announced, ‘Laura’s up!’

‘Is he now?’ Auguste asked. ‘Good job.’

Laurent sat up on the couch and checked his phone, reading back the last text from Damen. He’d entirely forgot that had happened, and now his mood dissolved into slight anxiety as he stood and made his way to the kitchen. ‘I texted Damen,’ he said in lieu of greeting, as he turned his attention directly to making coffee.

‘That’s good, right?’ Auguste asked, passing him a couple of mugs from the cupboard next to the stove. ‘You like him, he likes you, what’s the issue?’

‘I never said there was one,’ Laurent said, frowning. ‘He wants to… go out.’

‘Go out?’

‘For coffee.’

‘You like coffee.’

‘I do like coffee.’

‘So…’

‘I guess I’ll text him and see if he wants to go for coffee.’

‘That’s a great idea,’ Auguste grinned, flipping the bacon.

‘Is it?’ Laurent asked. ‘What if he doesn’t _actually_ like me?’

‘Oh my god, I’m pretty sure he likes you.’

‘Are you?’

‘Hennike, can you get Daddy’s phone, please?’

‘Yep!’ Hennike said cheerfully, retrieving the phone from where it was charging by the table.

‘Thank you, petal.’

‘What are you doing?’ Laurent asked, pouring coffee into two mugs and eyeing up his brother’s texting suspiciously.

‘Getting confirmation,’ Auguste said, slipping his phone into his pocket.

‘Of what?’

Auguste shrugged. ‘Plates?’

Laurent huffed in exasperation and got a couple of plates (and plastic bowl for Hennike) from the cupboard. ‘You’re infuriating sometimes.’

‘Yeah, and you’re stuck with me,’ Auguste said, dishing up the food, cutting his daughter’s bacon into tiny pieces. ‘You want ketchup?’

‘Yep!’ Hennike said, waiting impatiently at her little table, squealing excitedly when her food, liberally covered with sauce, was put down, along with a little fork and spoon.

Auguste took his phone out and opened it, apparently having received a text. ‘Told you,’ he said, turning the phone to show Laurent.

 

**(08:17) You like my brother, right? Like like?**

(08:23) i dont know why ur texting me this rn but ues

(08:23) yes

(08:24) does he like me?

 

‘Oh my god,’ Laurent muttered. ‘What are we, twelve?’

‘Yes. What should I send back?’

‘Why are you so invested in this?’

‘That’s a funny thing to reply,’ Auguste said.

‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ Laurent said, rolling his eyes. ‘I can text Damen myself.’

‘Oh, yeah? Don’t see you doing that, though.’

Laurent glared at him as he took his phone out and pointedly sent off a text.

 

_(08:27) My brother has no filter, I apologise._

_(08:27) Would you like to go for coffee?_

(08:29) right now? im in bed rn

(08:29) gimme like twenty minutes and sure

_(08:30) Not right now, please, go back to sleep._

(08:31) ok lol

 

‘See?’ Laurent said, copying his brother’s move and turning the phone around. ‘I am capable of basic human interaction.’

‘I don’t know if texting counts, little brother.’

‘You know what?’

Auguste pointedly glanced towards his daughter. ‘What?’

Laurent opened his mouth, shut it again, glared at his brother. He hated when Auguste pulled the _little ears are listening!_ card. ‘You are full of _fluff_ ,’ he said menacingly. ‘Stuffed like a _teddy bear_.’

Auguste just grinned.

***

‘Hey!’

Laurent looked up from his phone in the direction Damen’s voice had come from. There was a break in the rain, so Laurent was waiting outside the café he and Damen had agreed to meet at, taking advantage of the fresh air. Still, he was well bundled up in a jacket and scarf, kind of wishing he hadn’t arrived so early.

As it was, Damen was early from their agreed upon time.

‘You’re early,’ Laurent said, greeting him with a smile.

‘So are you,’ Damen said, returning the grin, and opening the door to the café with a bow. ‘Shall we?’

‘If it’s okay with you, I thought we could get coffee then walk through the park? It’s… agreeable weather.’

‘Sure. What do you want to drink? Can I guess?’

‘I doubt you’ll get it, but yes.’

Damen hummed thoughtfully as they joined the queue. ‘I want to say straight black coffee, but I don’t think you have anything straight –’

‘The only thing I have straight is vodka,’ Laurent muttered.

Damen laughed. ‘Something sweeter, then, but I don’t think you’d want anything _super_ sweet, so I’m saying probably a mocha? But with whip.’

Laurent raised an eyebrow. ‘Is that so?’

‘You’re making me second-guess myself here, but I think it’s just a ruse. I’m sticking with it.’

‘Interesting.’

‘How close was I?’

Laurent shrugged. ‘Mocha, iced, no whip.’

‘Iced? In this weather?’ Damen asked. ‘What are you, Elsa? Cold never bothered you, anyway?’

‘Well, we do have the same hair,’ Laurent said, gesturing vaguely at his head, where his golden hair was pulled back into a bun. ‘Also, if it starts snowing, I don’t want to build a snowman with you.’

‘Noted,’ Damen said. ‘Wasn’t expecting you to pick up on that reference.’

‘I have a three year old niece, Damen.’

‘You do? I always thought Auguste was joking. He talks about her so much.’

‘Yeah, I guess he must like her,’ Laurent said. ‘Someone’s got to carry on the family name, and my line ends with me.’

‘That’s… uh,’ Damen said awkwardly, as they approached the counter. He ordered for them, paid, and they went to wait for their order to be called. ‘Do you want another niece? Or nephew?’

Laurent shrugged. ‘I suppose. It’s nice being able to give them back once you’ve had them for the day.’

‘I don’t have any nieces or nephews,’ Damen mused. ‘I don’t know if my brother will ever find someone willing to have his kids. Though, I mean, he’s still sleeping with Jokaste, so you never know.’

‘Do you really want your ex to be the mother of your niblings?’

‘Pardon.’

‘Niblings. Gender neutral plural for nieces and nephews.’

‘Oh, cute. Uh, don’t know, actually,’ Damen yawned. ‘Be a little weird, but I suppose that’s life.’

‘Very mature of you,’ Laurent said, stepping up to get their drinks as Damen’s name was called out. ‘If you want, I can ask Auguste if you’re allowed to babysit Hennike with me next week. I’m taking her to the museum.’

Damen’s face lit up, as he clutched his cup a little in excitement. ‘Really? I would love that.’

‘Great,’ Laurent smiled as he sipped his drink.

‘Will she like me?’

‘Damen,’ Laurent said softly. ‘I think liking you runs in my family.’

‘Oh man, either you’re trying to friendzone me here, or you’re suggesting your brother also wants to bang me.’ Damen waited a beat, then burst into laughter at the look of utter disbelief on Laurent’s face. ‘Bad joke?’

‘Terrible joke. My brother would never be able to beat me in this competition. I hope.’

‘Nah,’ Damen gave him an easy smile. ‘Not a chance.’

‘Good, because I’m a sore loser,’ Laurent said, glancing sideways at Damen, who was biting his lip and looking a little like he might burst. ‘I know you’ve got a joke waiting to be set free. Just say it.’

Damen looked a little torn, but eventually said, ‘I could make you a sore something else.’

Laurent took a deep breath, sipped some more of his drink, and said precisely, ‘I have changed my mind, I hate you.’

‘Aw, don’t be like that.’

‘I can’t believe I’m willingly here with someone making such terrible jokes.’

‘Yep, but you are. And having a nice time, I hope?’ Damen asked, glancing at him over the rim of his cup.

‘Yes,’ Laurent smiled a little. ‘I am.’

***

‘How was your date?’

Laurent rolled his eyes, immediately regretting answering the call from his brother. ‘It was fine.’

‘Fine? Uh oh, that’s not promising,’ Auguste said. There was some shuffling and banging in the background, followed by, ‘aw, fluff.’

‘Auguste, what are you doing?’

‘This isn’t about what I may or may not be breaking, Laurent. Tell me about your date.’

Laurent heaved a sigh and leaned back in his desk chair, spinning slowly around. ‘It was good.’

‘Oh, now it was _good_?’

‘I like him, okay? Is that what you want to hear?’

‘Yes! It is! What else?’

‘I… what else do you want me to say?’

‘Did you flirt? Did he kiss you? Do you want to do _naughty_ things? Do you want to see him again?’

‘Kinda, no, maybe,’ Laurent paused, waiting for Auguste to stop clanging things. ‘And I actually wanted to ask you about that.’

‘Ask me what?’ Auguste said suspiciously. ‘For advice? I’m not the most experienced in that area, Laurent. I don’t know what I can tell you except to use lube.’

‘What? No.’

‘Uh, yes. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.’

‘Oh my god, Auguste. No, I wanted to ask you something else.’

‘Well, my advice still stands. What’s up?’

‘Is it alright if Damen comes with me to take Hennike to the museum?’ Laurent asked quickly, part hoping Auguste wouldn’t catch it all.

‘Damen wants to go with _you_ to the _museum_?’ Auguste laughed. ‘I thought you wanted to date him, not get rid of him.’

‘Don’t be rude. Is that okay or not?’

‘Oh, no. Totally fine. Just hate to see all my hard work wasted.’

***

‘How was your date?’

Damen grinned happily and collapsed onto Nik’s couch with a sigh. ‘Nik…’

‘You know what?’ Nik shook his head and stood up. ‘I don’t want to know. I already regret asking.’

‘He’s so pretty, Nik.’

‘I want to die.’

‘He’s so smart, and he’s funny, I think. He had his hair up, and there was this little bit loose at the front, and I had to stop myself like a hundred times from brushing it back for him,’ Damen gushed. ‘He looked up at me from under his eyelashes a couple times, and I swear to God, my heart actually stopped.’

Nik raised an eyebrow and pushed Damen’s feet off the couch so he could sit. ‘So, I’m not totally sure I’ve got this right, but you like him?’

‘Nik, I’m in _love_.’

‘Oh,’ Nik blinked. ‘Neat.’

‘He wants me to come with him and his niece to the museum next week and I might actually explode.’

‘Please do.’

***

_(16:49) Auguste says you may accompany Hennike and I to the museum._

(16:50) great! can’t wait :)

_(16:50) I’ll text you time and where to meet us later in the week._

(16:51) i hope u’ll text me before then too?

_(16:51) Maybe._

(16:52) u know what? i’ll take it

***

‘Hey! Hope you don’t mind me calling,’ Damen said in lieu of greeting.

‘Of course not,’ Laurent said, switching his phone to speaker as he got out a knife to start cutting vegetables for his dinner. ‘What’s up?’

‘I was wondering if you wanted to get dinner.’

Laurent eyed up the array of things on his bench and cleared his throat. ‘I’ve just started cooking.’

‘Oh,’ Damen said quietly. ‘Never mind then.’

‘No, uh,’ Laurent shut his eyes, like maybe it would give him more confidence. ‘Do you want to join me?’

‘For dinner?’

‘Yes.’

‘At… your apartment?’

‘Yes.’

‘Are you sure?’ Damen asked, though it sounded like he was already getting himself ready to leave.

‘I always make enough for leftovers,’ Laurent explained. ‘It’s more efficient for living alone.’

‘It is. When do you want me?’

‘Preferably before this is finished in about half an hour or so.’

‘Okay, I’ll be there.’

‘I’ll text you my address,’ Laurent said with a smile. ‘Do you have any dietary requirements?’

‘Nope, I’ll eat whatever you give me.’

‘I’ll see you soon then,’ Laurent said, hanging up and sending off a text with his address to Damen. He put his phone down and blinked. Immediately picked it up again and called his brother.

‘Hey, little brother, what’s cooking?’ Auguste greeted.

‘Me, literally and figuratively,’ Laurent replied, turning his attention to peeling and cutting potatoes.

‘That’s promising.’

‘Damen asked me out for dinner, but I had to say no –’

‘Really? Should’ve dropped everything.’

‘So,’ Laurent continued loudly, ignoring his brother’s interruption. ‘I invited him over instead.’

‘You invited him over?’

‘Yes.’

‘To your apartment?’

‘Yes. I’m cooking. For Damen.’

‘Okay… can I ask why you called me, then?’

‘Because I’m freaking out!’ Laurent snapped.

‘Oh, you need me to _validate_ you,’ Auguste hummed. ‘It was a good move, you’re a great cook, Damen will love you.’

‘Literally or figuratively?’

‘Probably both.’

***

Laurent had just finished checking the potatoes and turning over the chicken, when a knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. He looked quickly around his apartment – lived in, but tidy – and went to open the door.

‘Hi, sorry I’m a bit – you’re wearing sweatpants,’ Damen said in a rush.

Laurent looked down at his clothes. He knew he’d forgotten something. ‘Oh,’ he said in surprise. ‘So I am. Let yourself in, I’ll get changed.’

‘No, I didn’t mean that. It’s your place, you can wear what you want.’

Laurent stopped on the way to his room. That was a good point. Act normal. ‘Right,’ Laurent muttered. ‘Uh, do you want a drink?’

‘Sure,’ Damen smiled, following him through to the kitchen. ‘Oh, I was going to bring you some wine, so I texted your brother to ask what you prefer, and he said you didn’t drink – which, duh, you told me – so, uh, I got you some flowers?’ he asked, awkwardly offering Laurent the slightly crushed bouquet he was carrying.

‘Oh… thank you,’ Laurent said, taking the roses and giving them a delicate sniff. ‘They’re lovely.’

Damen blushed a little as Laurent set them on the bench to rummage for a vase or… jug. Something, anything, to put them in. ‘Dinner smells great.’

‘I’m glad you think so,’ Laurent said, quietly exclaiming _aha!_ in victory as he pulled a large pitcher from the back of his cupboard. ‘Roast vegetables and chicken.’

‘My favourite.’

‘Didn’t you say you’d eat anything I gave you?’

‘Yeah, but my favourite is whatever you make me.’

‘So I could’ve burnt it all and you’d still say, “Oh shit, hell yeah!” and scrape your plate clean?’ Laurent asked, raising an eyebrow.

‘Is this a test?’ Damen asked suspiciously. ‘ _Did_ you burn it?’

‘Of course not. Hypothetically speaking.’

‘Hypothetically, yes. Human garbage disposal.’

‘Interesting. What would you like to drink?’

‘What have you got?’

‘Okay, you raid my fridge, I’ll plate dinner. Deal?’

‘Deal.’

Laurent nodded towards his fridge and got some plates out, before opening the oven and praying this would not be the one time he’d burn himself getting food out. He was careful to put everything on the mats he’d already laid out, because, yeah, he also didn’t want to scorch his bench. If that was even possible.

‘That looks really good,’ Damen said lowly, as Laurent set the plates down. ‘Holy fuck.’

‘Do you need any condiments? Salt or pepper?’ Laurent asked, hoping this man wasn’t like his niece in requiring ketchup on everything he ate.

‘Nope, all good. I’ll eat it as you intended.’

‘Good answer,’ Laurent smiled, tucking in. He could not state how thankful he was that his food didn’t taste like shit. Not that it ever _would_ , but it would be just his luck if everything turned to crap when he most needed it not to.

‘I think I’m dying,’ Damen said quietly, as he chewed and swallowed a mouthful. ‘Will you marry me?’

‘Not today.’

‘That’s okay, I’m sure I’ll ask you at least once more.’

Laurent blushed down at his plate and ignored the comment.

***

After dinner, Laurent led Damen to the living area to sit down and digest before desert. All he had prepared was ice cream, but he was pretty sure Damen wouldn’t be particularly mad about it.

‘That was possibly the best food I’ve ever eaten,’ Damen said, collapsing with a sigh. ‘Are you a chef? Like, by trade?’

‘Me? No. I’m a writer,’ Laurent replied, sitting down much more neatly than Damen. ‘What do you do?’

‘Civil engineering.’

‘Really?’

‘Yeah. I can hook you up with a hard hat,’ Damen shrugged, then eyed Laurent a little suggestively. ‘Or a hard something _else_?’

‘That’s terrible and you should be embarrassed,’ Laurent said, though his laughter might have given Damen the opposite impression.

‘It was good, you can admit it. You kinda walked right into it.’

‘If I was wearing a hard hat, it wouldn’t matter.’

‘Nice.’

Laurent grinned and folded a leg under himself, leaning one arm on the back of the couch. ‘I’m a man of many talents.’

Damen bit his lip, tilting his head a little as he studied Laurent. ‘Can I tell you something?’

‘If you must.’

‘Don’t freak out or anything, Auguste said you might freak out, but –’

‘This is not promising, Damen.’

‘It’s not bad, it’s just…’ Damen smiled at him, so softly, Laurent could pretty much tell what he was going to say. He still wanted to hear it. ‘You are one of the most incredible people I’ve ever met. You’re intelligent, and funny, and you’re… When I see you, it makes my heart stop a little how much I like you.’

‘Oh,’ Laurent said quietly.

‘When you’re here, like this, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,’ Damen finished, a blush colouring his cheeks. ‘Sorry if that was a little weird.’

‘No, it’s fine.’

‘Is it?’

‘Yes. Thank you. People aren’t often… here. I don’t let people in.’

‘But me?’

‘You seem to be an exception to a lot of my rules, Damen.’

‘For what it’s worth, I’m glad,’ Damen murmured, leaning a little closer to Laurent on the couch. ‘Can I kiss you?’

Laurent moved more into Damen’s space, glancing up at him from under his eyelashes. ‘Why haven’t you already?’

Damen muttered something Laurent didn’t quite catch, before he caught Laurent’s lips with his own, carding his fingers through that hair he’d been aching to touch. Laurent was responsive under him, parting his lips and allowing Damen access, as he looped his arms around Damen’s neck.

Damen sat back against the couch, pulling Laurent onto his lap, and pushing Laurent’s shirt aside with his nose to press open-mouthed kisses along his neck and shoulder. He kept his hands on Laurent’s waist, slipping his thumbs under the fabric to rub against bare skin.

Laurent let out a content sigh, his knees tensing at Damen’s hips, fingers digging into his muscles, as Damen continued peppering kisses along Laurent’s neck.

He stopped abruptly when Laurent ground down onto him. ‘Wait,’ Damen said a little breathlessly. ‘Can I ask you something?’

‘What?’

‘Are you… y’know?’

‘Am I what?’ Laurent asked, amused, pulling back.

‘Deflowered?’ Damen said, wincing at his own phrasing.

To his surprise, Laurent rolled his eyes. ‘I’m not a virgin, if that’s what you mean.’

‘Oh. Cool.’

‘Are you?’

‘Me? Definitely not.’

‘Okay, now that’s sorted..?’

Damen grinned, and dessert was forgotten.

***

**(02:06) How was dinner? B)**

_(02:07) Why are you awake, Auguste?_

**(02:07) I have a 3 y/o that wakes up in the middle of the night, and Kash needs sleep more than I do.**

**(02:07) So answer the question :)**

_(02:09) Well… we ate._

**(02:09) Ate what?**

_(02:11) Roast vegetables + chicken_

**(02:11) Why are you taking so long to reply**

**(02:11) Is Damen still there???**

_(02:14) No I’m just… recovering_

**(02:14) FROM WHAT???**

**(02:14) LAURENT DID YOU FUCK MY FRIEND LOL**

**(02:14) LAURENT YOU CHEEKY MINX!!**

_(02:17) Damen is gone_

_(02:17) Couldn’t stay_

_(02:18) Made his mark known though_

**(02:19) What did he do???**

_(02:19) The better question is what didn’t he do_

**(02:20) Laurent are you okay**

_(02:21) I’m totally fine :)_

_(02:21) You asked what we ate?_

_(02:22) He ate something else while he was here_

**(02:23) If you say your heart I’m going to explode**

_(02:24) My heart? Brother, no_

_(02:25) But I’ll have you know Damen’s tongue game is excellent_

**(02:26) Pardon**

_(02:27) Eats ass like a champion, Auguste._

**(02:27) FORGET I ASKED AND WE EVER HAD THIS CONVERSATION**

_(02:28) Unlikely? I’m going to relive that moment for as long as I live_

**(02:28) BYE**

***

‘Ask me how my dinner was.’

Nik barely looked up from his book as Damen burst into his bedroom. ‘Why?’

‘Just do it,’ Damen said, flopping next to him on the bed.

Nik looked up, marking his place with his thumb, as he took in his friend’s utterly dishevelled appearance. ‘Oh God, I don’t want to know.’

‘Nik,’ Damen whined. ‘Please, you’re my best friend. It’s in the description.’

Nik sighed deeply, already hating himself for complying. ‘How was your dinner?’

‘I went to Laurent’s,’ Damen said with a grin. ‘He cooked for me. He’s such a good cook, I think I’m actually in love.’

‘That’s not that bad. I was expecting –’

‘And then we _kinda_ banged.’

‘I stand corrected,’ Nik muttered, going back to his book.

‘No, Nik, wait. Please let me get this outta my system.’

‘Why, God, do these things happen to me? Fine. Make it snappy.’

‘He’s so pretty, Nik!’ Damen said, collapsing backwards, staring up at Nik’s ceiling. ‘We got naked and I almost passed out, I swear. He made the most incredible noises while I –’

‘Okay, changed my mind, I know where this is going. Please don’t say anything else or I’ll throw up on you.’

‘Why do you only care when I talk about girls? It’s sexist, Nik.’

‘I don’t need to hear how powerful your ass-eating game is, Damen.’

‘Who said I was going to recount that?’ Damen pouted. ‘Like, I was, but I might’ve been about to say how great the actual sex was.’

‘You didn’t have sex,’ Nik said, turning back to his book. ‘If you did, you would’ve opened with that.’

‘Damn, I hate how well you know me.’

***

_(13:27) Museum, Saturday, 11am?_

(13:28) I’ll be there :)

(13:28) are you busy tonight?

_(13:29) What day is it?_

(13:30) uh Thursday?

_(13:30) Oh… no. Not busy._

(13:31) wanna hang out?

_(13:32) Sure. What did you have in mind?_

(13:33) how do you feel about surprises?

_(13:35) Generally not good_

(13:36) hmm.

(13:37) would you trust me if I prepared a surprise date

_(13:38) Don’t be offended, but no._

(13:40) fair. half a surprise?

_(13:41) Which half_

(13:42) where we’re going not what we’re doing?

_(13:43) Maybe. But I reserve the right to say no._

(13:44) okay deal

(13:45) beach?

_(13:46) Deal. Pick me up at 5._

(13:47) i’ll see you then :)

***

It’d been a while since Laurent had been to the beach, and he hadn’t realised how much he’d missed it. Well. Not beach, as such. The lake. He and Auguste used to come here with their parents a lot, before they… well. He’d been back only a couple times since then, and it was a little like coming home.

‘Good surprise?’ Damen asked quietly, as Laurent looked across the water.

‘Good surprise,’ Laurent agreed.

‘I, uh, have some extra blankets in my car in case it gets cold, and dinner, of course,’ Damen said, lifting the picnic basket in his hand pointedly. ‘Could you grab that backpack off the backseat?’

They wandered down to the shore, Laurent a little lost in the way the sun was dipping low, casting a deep orange glow over everything.

‘You can go down to the water, if you want. I’ll set up,’ Damen said, taking the bag from Laurent and nudging him forward.

Laurent smiled softly, pausing to take off his socks and shoes, as he walked over the sand and pebbles, stopping with his toes just in the water.

There was a gentle breeze stirring the air, rustling the leaves on the trees surrounding the lake. It made Laurent miss his parents, thinking of how much time they’d spent here, and he half wondered if Damen had asked Auguste for good date ideas.

He turned when Damen called his name, and saw the spread picnic blanket, food and drinks laid out, and candles in torches dug into the sand around them.

‘I hope you’re okay with sandwiches,’ Damen said, gesturing to one of the boxes on the blanket, as Laurent sat opposite him. ‘And salads. And snacks.’

‘It’s great, thank you,’ Laurent said, picking up a sandwich and inspecting it. He wasn’t entirely sure what was in it, but it smelled good, and tasted even better.

He would never have pegged Damen as a guy who would put together a date like this, and least of all, do it for _him_. Laurent was very rarely wrong, but it looked like he might’ve been wrong about Damen, initially. Less of the fuck boy he’d taken him for, more of a genuinely nice guy with a heart of gold. Laurent didn’t want to admit it, but he could see himself falling for Damen. Maybe. If Damen would let him.

They ate quietly, only the sounds of lapping water breaking the silence, and the crackling of flames casting light on them.

‘Do you want to dance?’ Damen asked, once Laurent had finished off the last chocolate coated strawberry.

‘Sure,’ Laurent said, as he watched Damen dig a portable speaker out of the backpack. ‘What don’t you have in there?’

Damen shushed him as he connected his phone, scrolling through a playlist and selecting a song.

Laurent recognised it immediately and raised an eyebrow. ‘Ed Sheeran? Really?’

‘Yes,’ Damen said, taking one of Laurent’s hands, and winding his other arm around his waist. ‘This is a good song.’

_Settle down with me._

‘Any particular reason you picked this?’ Laurent asked, placing his free hand on Damen’s shoulder, as they started swaying gently.

Damen hummed and ignored the question.

_And your heart’s against my chest, your lips pressed to my neck._

‘Cheesy,’ Laurent muttered, as Damen spun him out slowly, and brought him back in to put both hands on Laurent’s hips.

‘You like it,’ Damen murmured.

_And with a feeling I’ll forget, I’m in love now._

‘It’s lame.’

‘Kiss me, like you wanna be loved,’ Damen sang.

‘What are you trying to say?’ Laurent asked, tangling his fingers in Damen’s hair, as they stopped moving.

Damen smiled a little. ‘Kiss me.’

Laurent huffed, but went onto his tip toes, kissing Damen with all the gentleness in Damen’s eyes.

‘I want to date you,’ Damen said softly, as Laurent pulled back. ‘I want to treat you with all the grace and courtesy you deserve, and I want to love you. Is that okay?’

‘Yeah,’ Laurent breathed. ‘That’s okay.’

***

_(23:51) This wasn’t supposed to happen._

**(23:54) Laurent? Are you okay?**

_(23:55) Hmm. Decidedly…. unsure._

**(23:55) Firstly, that’s not what “decidedly” means at ALL**

**(23:55) Secondly**

**(23:55) Fuck it I’m calling you right now**

 

‘Laurent, what’s going on?’ Auguste said immediately after the phone was picked up.

‘He said…’ Laurent trailed off.

‘What did he say?’ Auguste demanded. ‘Is this Damen? Do I need to kick his ass?’

‘No!’ Laurent said quickly. ‘No, definitely not.’

‘Then what’s going on? I’m in panic mode here, little brother.’

‘He… Damen said…’ Laurent took a deep breath, ‘Damen said he wants to love me.’

Auguste audibly sighed with relief. ‘That’s not what I expected.’

‘And I think I might want him to, Auguste.’

‘Oh, Laurent,’ Auguste said softly.

‘Is this completely crazy?’ Laurent asked quietly, pacing in front of his couch. ‘We’ve known each other only a couple of weeks, I don’t even fully trust him yet.’

‘Do you trust him at all?’

‘To some extent.’

‘That’s good, then, right? You don’t really trust anyone.’

‘Auguste –’

‘I know you have good reason not to, but if you trust Damen then that’s something in his favour.’

‘That’s not the point, and you didn’t answer my question,’ Laurent said, stopping in front of one of the windows looking out over the dead city streets below. Not too long ago, he’d kissed Damen on those streets. ‘Is this crazy?’

‘At the risk of sounding completely cheesy, when you know you know,’ Auguste offered. ‘If you and Damen both think you might really like each other, to the extent of _love_ after only a few weeks, then no one can tell you you’re wrong.’

‘But is it wrong?’

‘Love is never wrong, little brother.’

‘I don’t even know if I _do_ love him. I can see it happening, but I don’t know.’

‘That’s okay, you don’t have to know right now. If, rather, _when_ it happens, you will.’

‘How will I know?’ Laurent asked softly. ‘I’ve never – I never…’

‘I know,’ Auguste said gently. ‘You’ll know because it’ll be like coming home. It’ll be like a summer breeze, like breathing became so much easier. It’ll be like the centre of your world has shifted, just a little, so now instead of it just being you, it’ll be you and Damen. Does that make sense?’

‘Auguste?’

‘Yeah?’

‘I think I’m in love with Damen.’

***

‘Nik, buddy, you awake?’

Nik cracked open an eye and looked at Damen standing in his doorway. ‘Oh, what the fuck now? It’s like one in the morning.’

‘It’s not even half past twelve, don’t be ridiculous,’ Damen said, and Nik heard him kick off his shoes and pick up the sheets to slide into his bed. ‘I need to ask you something.’

‘Oh, and here I was thinking you just wanted to sleep in my bed,’ Nik said, his voice a little muffled as he turned his face into the pillow. ‘What’s up?’

‘Do you think I actually loved Jokaste?’

Nik turned back to Damen and opened both his eyes to peer at him in the dark. ‘Is this a “lights on” conversation?’

‘I think so.’

‘Okay,’ Nik sighed and reached behind him to turn on his bedside lamp, sitting up in the process. ‘What brought this on?’

‘I just need to know,’ Damen said, staying where he was and staring intently at Nik’s ceiling. There were some weird pits in the paint, it looked like.

‘Well… I don’t know. I wouldn’t say I ever really liked Jokaste, so I was kinda glad you two broke up, but you seemed happy with her.’

‘Do you think I truly _loved_ her, though?’

‘Only you can answer that, buddy.’

‘I moved in with her. I thought I loved her…’

‘But?’

‘But it’s nothing compared to what I feel now, you know?’ Damen sighed, turning his head to glance up at Nik, who was leaning back against the wall, looking like he wasn’t entirely hating this conversation for once. Advice Nikandros was in the building.

‘And what do you feel now?’

‘God, Nik, he’s like sunshine to me,’ Damen said softly. ‘Like the feeling you get standing outside and it starts raining, and you put your face to the sky. Like everything is colour.’

‘Did you ever have that with Jokaste?’

‘Jokaste was like sitting next to a stream. Laurent is the ocean.’

‘In the way that being with Jokaste has led you to Laurent, or the way that he takes up so much more space?’

‘Like looking to the horizon while you’re on a boat, and there’s no end in sight.’

‘Buddy, you know it’s possible to have loved more than one person, right?’

‘Yeah, I do, but I can’t have loved Jokaste if _this_ is what love is.’

‘So… you’re in love with Laurent, then,’ Nik summarised.

Damen nodded. ‘I’m in love with Laurent.’

***

Laurent was running late to the museum. He knew he was, but there was very little he could do to change that fact, because toddlers never made anything easy. Least of all _this_ toddler, who seemed to be doing everything she could to make them later and later. Laurent supposed it wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know what time was.

As he and Hennike turned the corner, Laurent saw Damen sitting on one of the benches outside, enjoying the cold sunshine of the late morning. ‘Damen!’ he called.

Damen sat up, and turned in Laurent’s direction with a smile. ‘Hey!’ he greeted, slipping his hands into his pockets.

‘Hennike, this is my friend, Damen. Say hi?’

Hennike looked up at Damen with the kind of scrutiny he’d only ever seen before on her uncle. It was a clear family resemblance. ‘Hi.’

‘Hi there,’ Damen said, crouching in front of her. ‘I like your shoes.’

‘They have unicorns!’ she said pointing to the side of her sneaker, emblazoned with unicorns and rainbows.

‘They do. I love unicorns.’

This seemed to gain her approval, and she gave him a bright smile. Laurent, too, gave him a smile, already feeling his heart gain speed.

‘We going in?’ Damen asked, standing and taking up position next to Laurent. ‘I haven’t been here in years.’

Laurent’s eyebrows shot up. ‘Well, at least we’ll be remedying that today.’

‘Small mercies, huh?’

Hennike tugged on Laurent’s hand, trying to make him move. He was already regretting not bringing that… push thing. ‘Be good, or I’m going to carry you,’ he warned.

Hennike looked up at him with the kind of _I dare you_ face only a three year old could pull off.

Damen pursed his lips to stop himself from smiling. He didn’t want to be that asshole that encouraged bad behaviour in children, even if it was a little hilarious. ‘After you,’ he said, pushing open the door for them.

As soon as they stepped through, Laurent became immediately peaceful, so at home in these surroundings. ‘You wanna see the birds?’ he asked, picking up Hennike and wandering to the nearest small exhibit. So, really, it wasn’t _Do you want to see the birds?_ so much as _We’re going to see these birds._

‘Oh, shit,’ Damen muttered, as he followed Laurent and Hennike and was consequently plunged into darkness. ‘Sorry,’ he said, as he bumped into something that made a small _oof_ sound.

‘Damen?’ Laurent whispered, from somewhere across the cave.

‘Laurent?’ Damen whispered back, following the sound of his voice to a better-lit area. ‘Oh _neat_ ,’ he said, looking at the arrangement of a bird skeleton in a make-shift gully.

‘See that?’ Laurent was saying to Hennike. ‘Bird.’

‘Bird,’ she repeated.

‘You wanna go through the tunnel?’

‘Yep.’

‘There’s a tunnel?’ Damen asked. ‘I wanna go through the tunnel.’

‘You’ll get stuck,’ Laurent warned. ‘It’s quite small.’

‘Watch me.’

‘I’ll film it from the other end,’ Laurent said. ‘Okay, Hennike, Damen’s gonna take you through.’

‘Yep,’ Hennike said, kicking Laurent to let her down.

‘The tunnel is here,’ Laurent said, taking Damen’s hand and putting it on the edge of the faux rock tunnel. ‘Just follow the light, and do not crush my niece.’

‘I’ll try.’

Laurent gave him a peck on the cheek and disappeared, leaving Damen with Hennike.

‘Now?’ she asked.

‘Sure, I guess,’ Damen said, kneeling and squeezing his shoulders in the tunnel behind her.

‘Are you stuck in there?’ Laurent called, phone out, but grabbing Hennike by the arm before she disappeared into the crowds of the museum.

‘No,’ Damen replied weakly. ‘A little.’

Laurent grinned and crouched at the tunnel’s exit, spotting Damen’s hand around the corner. ‘I told you, didn’t I?’ he said, angling his phone just inside. This was going directly to Auguste later.

‘You think you’re smart,’ Damen said, pulling himself along the tunnel, much like a cat dragging itself across the floor.

‘I’m not the one stuck in a children’s cave, Damen.’

‘Hurry up!’ Hennike said, bouncing a little impatiently.

‘Oh my god, I can see where she gets her bossiness from,’ Damen muttered, his head appearing in sight.

‘I’m sending this to my brother, so be nice.’

Damen paused in crawling through the tunnel and looked up at Laurent’s phone. ‘Auguste, your daughter is adorable.’

‘Better.’

The museum staff barely gave Damen a second look as he hauled himself out of the tunnel, collapsing onto the floor with a groan. ‘You were right.’

‘I am _so_ glad I’m filming this,’ Laurent said, delighted. ‘Now, get up. We have things to do, right, Hennike?’

‘More birds,’ she nodded.

‘Oh, great, more caves, too?’

‘No more caves,’ Laurent smiled, bumping their shoulders together. ‘But I’d love to see you get on the fake horse, later.’

‘We’ll see.’

Hennike grabbed Damen’s hand, and pulled both him and Laurent forward, through the museum, like she knew the floorplan by heart, which, maybe she did.

‘These aren’t birds,’ Damen said blankly, looking around the collection of old artefacts and life-size dioramas.

‘There are more birds later,’ Laurent said. ‘In the upstairs galleries.’

‘Come here,’ Hennike said, dropping Laurent’s hand and taking Damen to the windows. ‘See? Puppies.’

‘How many puppies?’ Damen asked, crouching down to talk with Hennike.

Laurent stayed back, snapping a couple of pictures and videos because he was _that_ uncle. Also, he was melting a little bit at seeing how his niece and Damen were interacting.

Damen and Hennike came back after a couple of minutes, and Laurent knew there must be some kind of ridiculous smile on his face to make Damen blush like that.

‘Shall we?’ he asked softly, taking Damen’s free hand, letting Hennike pull them through to the next area, where she immediately gravitated to the cabin diorama and peered inside eagerly.

They continued through the museum, content to let Hennike take them where she wanted to go and look, and content to spend the time talking quietly and exchanging gentle smiles. As the three of them headed upstairs, it was like Laurent took control. He led them towards his favourite spots, giving Damen little factoids, and explaining things in lighter terms to Hennike, who stood on her tiptoes to look into glass cabinets.

The moment Damen picked her up to see the higher shelves, Laurent’s heart just about burst. Damen looked so completely at ease, and Hennike seemed happy to have him hold her, as he pointed out the little dogs carved from stone, and all the different patterns and paintings on the antique snuff boxes.

It was somewhere between the display of samurai swords and the hall of taxidermy birds that Laurent knew what he’d told Auguste earlier in the week was utterly true. He was in love with Damen, and each little giggle he got out of Hennike was making it more obvious to him.

‘Now this,’ Laurent said, tugging on Damen’s hand, ‘is the best part.’

Damen followed him slowly through, pausing so Hennike could run her tiny hands over the sandstone sculptures guarding the entrance to the exhibit of the Egyptian mummy. ‘You know about this stuff?’

‘I took a couple of papers at university,’ Laurent said, touching the tiny placards beneath the glass that housed canopic jars and _shabti_. ‘Do you?’

‘Not really,’ Damen said, pointing out a couple of brass cat figurines for Hennike. ‘Enlighten me.’

‘These,’ Laurent said, gesturing to the jars, ‘were what organs were stored in after mummification. They’d be scooped out and put in here, but the brain would be thrown out because it had no value.’

‘Through the nose, right?’

‘Through the nose. These are shabti, they would be put in the tomb to serve the dead in the afterlife.’

‘Cool,’ Damen said, inspecting them closely. ‘Can you read what’s on the sarcophagus?’

Laurent huffed. ‘No, I can’t. But I _can_ tell you that there were three different types of texts used in different periods to prepare and help the deceased make their way through the Duat to the hall of judgement.’

‘Oh?’

‘Pyramid texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead.’

‘So… what’s inside a pyramid, the stuff on the coffins, and the Book of the Dead?’ Damen hummed. ‘Have you seen _The Mummy_? They say not to read from the book.’

‘Yeah, that’s wrong,’ Laurent smiled. ‘The whole point of the book was to read it. As time went on, texts to help souls navigate their way to judgement became more and more accessible and less… elite? I guess that’s what you’d call it. From the pyramids of royalty, to coffins of higher-ups, to books which were available to a much larger audience. Some of the coffin texts had spells that prevented the deceased from devouring urine and faeces.’

‘Seriously?’

‘Yep.’

Laurent turned to Damen from where he’d been looking at the painted death mask of the mummy in front of them. He looked like the definition of the _heart eyes_ emoji. ‘What?’

‘You’re just…’ Damen smiled at him. ‘Ridiculous. Amazing.’

Laurent rolled his eyes. ‘Shush,’ he said, but allowed himself to return the smile.

‘No, you’re so smart, Laurent. Tell me more.’

Laurent squeezed his hand a little and started moving them out of the exhibit. ‘Not right now. I think Hennike is getting a bit bored. Besides, the dinosaurs are next.’

‘Dinosaurs!’ Hennike screeched, practically buzzing with excitement.

‘Do you like dinosaurs?’ Damen asked her, following Laurent out past another set of sandstone sculptures.

‘Yes! Laura shows me dinosaurs.’

‘Laura?’

‘Me,’ Laurent explained. ‘She’s never really had _Laurent_ down, so Laura is as close as it gets.’

‘Can I call you Laura?’

‘Absolutely not.’

‘It was worth a shot.’

‘Hmm,’ Laurent raised an eyebrow. ‘Hennike, can you show Damen the big footprint?’

‘There!’ she said, pointing towards the other side of the gallery. ‘It’s big, Damen.’

‘Is it, now?’ Damen asked, putting Hennike down and letting her pull him away from Laurent. ‘Could I fit in it, you think?’

Hennike gave him an appraising look. ‘Yep.’

‘Really?’

‘It would be easier than the tunnel,’ Laurent conceded. ‘Mostly because it’s open air.’

‘Well, I’m very flexible,’ Damen said, looking somewhat sceptically at the footprint when they arrived there. ‘Basically a contortionist.’

‘Be my guest,’ Laurent said, watching as Damen went for the ass-first approach, gathering his legs to himself, as Hennike giggled. ‘How’s that working for you?’

‘I’m sure I’m the picture of comfort right now,’ Damen said, wiggling a little to prove his point.

Laurent grinned and took a quick picture before Damen could protest. ‘Clearly. Get out so Hennike can sit in it.’

Damen slowly unfolded his legs, careful not to kick a small child in the head as he did so, and stood up. ‘Come to think of it, something was definitely up my ass just then.’

‘What happened to _“I’m the picture of comfort, Laurent, I’m so comfy here,”_ hmm?’

‘Never said it was uncomfortable,’ Damen muttered, helping Hennike clamber into the footprint, where she sat, legs crossed.

‘Smile!’ Laurent said, taking a picture for Auguste. They were basically tracking her growth through how much of the footprint she took up. ‘Hennike, where are the bugs?’

Hennike’s face lit up, grabbing Damen’s hand and speeding off with him to another area full of bugs and microscopes. He helped her get a little beetle cast in heavy, clear plastic under one of the microscopes, showing up on a screen in front of them. Damen and Hennike spent a couple of moments in intense discussion about which bug was better, eventually settling on the grasshopper, before they continued and ended up on the way out of the museum and next to a large fake horse.

‘Did you say you were going to get on that?’ Laurent said casually as they came to a stop so Hennike could pet it.

Damen read the sign next to the horse and turned back to Laurent. ‘This says ages thirteen and under.’

Laurent blinked innocently. ‘Oh, does it? I could’ve sworn it was thirteen _feet_ and under, and God knows, you’re barely under that.’

‘What are you implying?’

‘That you are a huge beast,’ Laurent said, lifting Hennike into the saddle, keeping a hand on her so she wouldn’t fall. ‘Hold the reins, remember?’

Hennike smiled happily, as Laurent started making horse noises, and Damen felt his heart melt a little. He took a quick video to immortalise the moment because, shit, he was falling deep for this man.

‘What are you grinning at?’ Laurent asked, as he removed Hennike and made his way to the exit.

‘You,’ Damen said softly.

‘Why?’

‘You’re such a good uncle.’

Laurent looked to Hennike. ‘What do you think? Am I a good uncle?’

Hennike nodded, but her attention was quickly caught by the range of toys in the gift shop, so Laurent drifted over towards them, letting her pick one out. She hauled down a huge, green snake, almost twice as big as she was, and Laurent’s eyes widened a little, but he allowed it.

Damen looked at the price tag as he followed Laurent to the counter. ‘That’s, uh, a lot.’

‘That’s not what concerns me,’ Laurent said, switching Hennike to his other arm as he yanked his card from his back pocket. ‘Auguste is going to kill me when I deliver her back with this thing.’

‘Tell him it was my fault.’

‘I will, don’t worry,’ Laurent said, smiling as the cashier gave him back his card and receipt. And the snake. ‘Usually I just let her pick something small enough to hide in her backpack.’

Hennike wrapped her tiny arms around the python and sighed happily as they left. ‘Thank you, Laura.’

‘You’re welcome,’ Laurent said, being sure to grab the tail of the snake so it didn’t drag along the ground outside. ‘Where are you parked?’ he asked Damen as they returned to the frigid air of the outdoors.

‘Down that way,’ Damen nodded in the opposite direction to where Laurent had come from. ‘I had a great time, thank you for inviting me.’

‘Thank you for coming,’ Laurent said, biting his lip. ‘Do you want to have dinner tonight?’

‘I’d love to. I’ll cook, since you did last time.’

‘You prepared food for the picnic.’

‘I haven’t _cooked_ for you, though. How are you with Greek food?’

‘I suppose we’ll find out,’ Laurent smiled, leaning up quickly to kiss Damen. ‘I’ll be home in about an hour. Feel free to drop around any time after then.’

‘I’ll see you in an hour and two minutes, then,’ Damen murmured, kissing Laurent again. ‘Gotta go pick up some things.’

‘Okay. See you soon,’ Laurent nodded, turning to leave. He stopped and went back to where Damen was still watching him go. One more, slightly longer kiss, and he pulled back. ‘Don’t be late.’

‘I won’t. Bye, Hennike!’

‘Bye, Damen!’ Hennike replied cheerfully, holding out her tiny hand for a fist bump. She made a quiet _pew!_ noise when Damen bumped their hands together, and Laurent saw his lip tremble a little.

God, he was going to end up having children with Damen if he carried on this way.

***

‘Hey, petal!’ Auguste greeted, as Hennike and Laurent spilled noisily into the house. ‘How was the museum?’

‘Laura got me _this_!’ Hennike said, holding the head-end of her python up triumphantly. ‘We had fun.’

‘Did you now?’ Auguste asked, his eyes widening in shock at the sheer size of the snake, as he appeared in the entryway. ‘Dear God, Laurent.’

‘She picked it, and Damen wants you to know it was his fault.’

‘Noted. Why don’t you go show Mama your snake, Hennike?’

‘Okay!’ Hennike said, running off to find Kashel, the snake trailing behind her.

‘How was your date?’ Auguste asked, once she was out of earshot. ‘Are you totally in love with him?’

‘You know how I don’t want children?’

‘Uh huh…’

‘If we’re not careful, I’m going to spontaneously give birth because of him.’

Auguste frowned. ‘What?’

Laurent shook his head, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it, as he gave Auguste Hennike’s backpack. ‘Look,’ he said, hitting play on a video of Damen and Hennike discussing the little carved dogs. Damen was listening intently to Hennike’s not-quite-coherent talking about what they were looking at, nodding and asking her questions at all the right times. ‘He’s so good with her.’

‘You are too, you know,’ Auguste said. ‘You’d both be great parents.’

‘Together?’

‘Maybe.’

Laurent sighed. ‘You know, I did not sign up for this when I saw him in the gym.’

‘I know,’ Auguste nodded. ‘But aren’t you glad this is where you’ve ended up?’

Laurent didn’t answer that. ‘I have to go. Damen’s coming over.’

‘Oh?’

‘He’s going to cook for me.’

‘ _Oh?_ ’

‘Yeah, so, I’m gonna do that –’

‘Are you, now?’ Auguste said, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

‘Oh, fuck off,’ Laurent grinned. ‘I’m going to say goodbye to my niece, then I’m out.’

‘You’re already out.’

‘That’s a terrible joke and you should be ashamed.’

***

(13:54) hey nik call me rly quick

 

‘What do you want?’ Nik whined immediately, as soon as Damen answered his phone.

‘I’m absolutely, one hundred percent, crazy gone and in love,’ Damen said, as he took out his keys to unlock his car. ‘Completely.’

‘We’ve been over this.’

‘I know, but that doesn’t make it any less real.’

‘Did you call me just to gloat?’

‘No, I called you because I’m cooking Greek food for Laurent for dinner and I need you to read me a recipe from that book over the stove with bits falling out from my Mom. I need to check I’ve remembered everything.’

‘Wow, going hard, huh?’

‘What can I say?’ Damen sighed. ‘Laurent makes me go hard.’

‘Disgusting.’

***

Damen arrived at Laurent’s apartment not too soon after Laurent did, himself. It was still early afternoon, but Damen insisted he needed to get something prepped and in Laurent’s fridge, if they wanted to eat at all today.

Laurent was instructed not to touch, so he sat on the opposite side of the bench, directing Damen to the bowls and tools he requested, content to watch him mix spices and ingredients in his kitchen, like he belonged there. Damen set a bowl in the fridge, then started cleaning up, leaving them with the rest of the afternoon to… do stuff.

Laurent hadn’t exactly come up with a plan for what they could do, but Damen’s face lit up at the collection of games and consoles under Laurent’s TV, so they spent a good couple of hours on the Wii, until Damen declared it time to start cooking.

Once again, Laurent was banished to the other side of the bench, only able to watch as Damen flitted around his kitchen, humming to the music he had playing from the speakers on the bench. As he was waiting for the pan to heat on the stove, Damen shimmied his way around the bench, and took Laurent’s hand, twirling him around.

They only paused long enough for Damen to get the marinated meat in the pan, then continued until it was time to flip it, and start assembling plates – where Laurent was put firmly in charge of drinks and ordered not to touch the food.

Eating saw Laurent be the one to express utter delight, barely holding his tongue to save them both from _him_ being the one proposing marriage. He wasn’t exactly an expert, but it was the best Greek food he’d ever eaten, and Damen delighted in hearing as such.

They retired once more to Laurent’s living room and spent some time making out, tasting remnants of spices and tzatziki on each other. Damen had, obviously, ended up shirtless, and was peppering tiny kisses over the little bits of Laurent’s exposed flesh that he could reach when it happened.

Laurent had reclaimed his mouth, biting gently on his lip, and Damen tightened his grip a little on Laurent’s hips. It made Damen a little crazy. More than, if the words that came out of his mouth were anything to go by.

With a sigh, quietly, ‘I think I love you.’

Laurent went completely still, where his lips were now under Damen’s ear. ‘Do you?’ he breathed.

‘Shit, that wasn’t – I didn’t mean…’

‘Things like that don’t just… slip out if they’re not true.’

‘Do you think it’s true?’

‘Doesn’t matter what I think.’

Damen turned his face to Laurent. He looked small and scared, and his hair was wild from where Damen’s hands had been in it. ‘What if I meant it? It’s too soon, I know –’

‘What if I do, too?’

Damen blinked in shock. ‘Do you?’

‘Do _you_?’

‘I… yes.’

Laurent nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Oh.’

‘Is that… okay?’

‘That’s… okay.’

‘Okay,’ Laurent echoed, looking unsure at Damen.

Neither of them really knew where to go from there, but they simultaneously decided it was a great idea to take things to the bedroom, so that’s what they did.

Shirts, pants, socks were shed along the way, collapsing together on Laurent’s bed, limbs tangled and mouths together. Damen made his way down Laurent’s body, trailing open mouthed kisses and gentle bites at strategic points to have Laurent writhing beneath him.

At his hips, Damen made a beeline, but was stopped by Laurent’s hand in his hair.

‘I won’t reciprocate,’ Laurent warned. ‘If that’s what you’re thinking.’

‘I know,’ Damen grinned, and took him down in one slow movement.

Laurent exhaled sharply, one hand twisting in Damen’s curls, the other in the bed sheets.

Damen kept one arm over Laurent’s hips as he started moving, because although they’d only done this once before and he knew Laurent had the iron will of someone who refused to let loose, there could be a first time for everything. It also gave him an excuse to keep his free hand on Laurent’s skin, but that was largely beside the point.

He was content to lie there, Laurent’s breathy little noises above him, and would stay there forever if Laurent would let him.

A little while later, Damen asked him as much – whether Laurent would let him stay forever.

Laurent, a soft smile on his face, laced their fingers together and nodded.

_Forever._

***

_(09:02) There’s a hot guy at the gym, Auguste._

**(09:04) I know you’ve been dating Damen for like four months**

**(09:04) Surely you aren’t bored of him already**

_(09:05) [Image sent]_

**(09:05) I see**

**(09:06) You’re funny**

**(09:06) It’s Damen**

_(09:07) :)))_

**(09:07) You two look happy together**

_(09:07) Look at my hand, Auguste._

**(09:08) !!!!!!**

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, pals! 
> 
> you can find me [here](http://damiaanos.tumblr.com/) on tumblr!


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